


Duel of Fates

by bbqbert



Series: Visions of Vader [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 96,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28017429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbqbert/pseuds/bbqbert
Summary: Using knowledge from a dark future, Darth Sidious brings the galaxy to its knees. With the Jedi Order and Republic crippled, Anakin Skywalker's only hope of ridding the galaxy of the Sith may be to embrace the strength of the dark side--at the cost of losing himself forever.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Series: Visions of Vader [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2052165
Comments: 571
Kudos: 121





	1. The Nameless Man

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back, friends! I'm so glad for your support of my first story, ECHOES OF VADER. I'm glad you're here for the grand finale! For those who haven't checked it out, please do so before proceeding with this story. You can probably make do without it, but it's definitely intended to be read as a duology.
> 
> My stories are based on Legends/EU canon. I have a strong preference towards the prequel movies and the original cast of characters. I've read many novels that focus on Anakin or Obi-Wan and have dabbled some in TCW, but I haven't watched Rebels or read any comics. Thus, I try to use what I know best: the PT/OT movies and their characters.
> 
> Canon pairings apply but aren't the focus of this story.
> 
> Onward! Please enjoy~

Dust swirled through the streets of Mos Espa. The people carried on buying, bartering, working, and living. To them, he was just another traveler in a mask. A potential customer, maybe, or a potential enforcer of the Hutts, but not a real threat.

Anakin strolled into the middle of the desert settlement, a breeze fluttering his black cloak and robes. Some people stared at him, possibly Force-sensitive beings who had seen his evil visage in visions of the future. Others possibly saw him as a wanted criminal, but everyone on Tatooine knew better than to mess with those sorts. It made his job easier.

He slipped his hand into the folds of his tunic and drew out a slim, silver device with a single button. He raised it above his head. Everyone looked. They always did.

"I have a bomb," he shouted.

The mask did not disrupt his breathing, but it distorted his voice as it had in the future. He'd even created a helmet out of it to conceal his hair and drown out any trace of his voice. Instead of his soft, weak voice, he spoke in a robotic baritone that commanded obedience.

Everyone in the surrounding area screamed and scattered. People ducked into buildings and behind crates, market stalls, and other people. It was interesting to see the sorts who used others as living shields. Usually, slaves were the shields.

Sometimes, parents would shield their little ones. A twinge of pain struck Anakin's heart.

He pushed the button. All around him, electronics went dark. No fizzles or pops, just the strange silence that came when fans shut down, radios muted, and holos darkened. The people of Mos Espa searched their surroundings and poked their heads out from behind cover.

"Just kidding," Anakin added. He tucked the device into his tunic and raised his voice. "I have disabled all of the explosive devices in the slaves of Mos Espa. Henceforward, every slave here is free. Anyone who would like to contend with me on this matter is welcome to step forward. If not, freed slaves, follow me. I will ensure you are not enslaved again."

He walked down the street, leisurely, as he always did. No one moved, because no one believed him. A slaver scoffed at him and produced the detonator linked to his slave and pushed the button. Nothing happened. His face changed to one of surprised horror. A second slaver attempted the same, and then another. Slavers muttered, but the freed slaves did, too.

Anakin kept walking.

"You'll do nothin' of the sort," shouted a slave owner, a Toydarian. Not Watto. He snatched a blaster from his stall and pointed it first at his slave, a young Twi'lek, and then pointed the blaster at Anakin. "You'll be on your way."

"Yes," Anakin said. "And any who want a chance at a free life are encouraged to come with me."

Slavers drew blasters, which wouldn't work due to Anakin's device, but others pulled out exotic variations of swords, spears, and axes. Anakin's device wouldn't stop those. A ring of slavers clustered around him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Anakin said. He reached to his back and clasped the bo staff he'd fashioned out of a solid piece of wood.

"What're ya gonna do?" chuckled a Dug, his whiskers frazzled like he'd been hit with an electro-jabber. He produced a rusted axe. "Beat us with a stick?"

Anakin sighed. Every time.

"It's a bo staff," he said, and he swept the weapon from its straps and twirled it across his wrist before catching it in his gloved right hand.

The slavers laughed at him. One of them pulled the trigger of his blaster. The weapon clicked but did nothing. The slaver frowned at his weapon, smacked it on his grimy hand, and tried again. Nothing.

"Oh yes," Anakin said, "I destroyed those, too."

Now the murmurs of the freed slaves rose, and they came from all ends of the settlement. The slavers grabbed whatever sharpened weapons they could find after they'd discarded their trashed blasters. The group formed a ring around Anakin, and those at the inside of the circle closed in on him.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Anakin said.

He raised his left hand into the air and grappled at his opponents' weapons with the Force. He yanked the weapons into the air. Most of his enemies released the weapons and stared at their empty hands in shock. A few of the brighter slavers clung to their weapons and dangled from them in the air. Anakin flicked his wrist and sent them and the weapons flying harmlessly to the tops of buildings.

Anakin dropped his hand and scanned the increasing group of enemies around him. He'd faced worse in Mos Eisley. The slavers charged him with shouts of rage. Anakin emptied his mind of such emotions and allowed himself to slip into the Force. He rid himself of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader and became a vessel of the Force. A tool to be moved by instinct rather than anger or hate.

Anakin lunged, and the world blurred around him. He swept his bo staff in a wide arc. Together with a nudge from the Force, an entire wave of combatants rolled over and blew away like scratchy tumbleweeds. A sword swung over his head, but Anakin dipped beneath it, somersaulted, and whirled his staff to take out his enemies' legs. As he rose, he stabbed his staff backwards into an assailant and flung him into the approaching crowd. Anakin slammed through another wall of opponents and hurled them down the street.

Empty space met him on the other side. All of his assailants lay sprawled on the street, muttering and groaning. Slaves trickled out of hiding and stared at him with mouths gaping. A flicker of fear prickled his skin through the Force. Anakin lowered his weapon and loosened his shoulders.

"If you want to be free, come with me," he said.

Anakin strolled down the street, stepping over the writhing bodies of the slavers he'd felled. None would die, but they'd suffer a little, and he didn't feel bad about that.

The steady patter of footsteps followed him out of the settlement to the fringes of the vast and sprawling desert beyond the city limits. A large transport vessel waited in clouds of golden sand. Freed slaves from Mos Eisley and lesser settlements about Tatooine milled around the ship and awaited his return. A few children ran towards Anakin and waved their hands wildly in the air.

Anakin ignored them.

"Who are they?" asked a man who hurried to match Anakin's long strides.

Anakin cast him a glance and did a double take. The young man was near Anakin's age, with black hair and a dark complexion. Anakin prodded at the Force to make certain of what he thought, and familiar feelings from his childhood unburied themselves and came to the forefront of his mind.

Kitster, his childhood friend.

Anakin cast his gaze ahead and refused to allow himself to look back. His heart leaped. His friend had survived all this time. He lived, and now he would be free. Finally.

"Others from Tatooine," Anakin answered, knowing that his mask and the voice of Darth Vader would bury any residual emotion that wormed its way into his words.

"Where will we go?"

"Somewhere safe."

Kitster ran ahead of Anakin and tried to step into his path to slow him, but Anakin veered past and maintained course to the transport ship.

"Who are you? What's your name?" Kitster asked.

"I have no name."

The freed people merged together, and some ran to each other, embraced, and wept. Families and friends reunited. Living, breathing, sentient beings finally restored to a place of dignity and respect. A bit of hope blossomed in Anakin's chest, and a touch of pride and joy at playing a part of it, but he snuffed out all such emotions. He only did what he should have done long ago.

So many suffered because he had failed for so long.

"Let's go," Anakin said in a gruff voice.

They boarded the vessel, and he took them out of the atmosphere, away from Tatooine, and into the vast emptiness of space. He had learned to control the ship on his own by rewiring all functions to the mainframe computer, but it still took his full concentration. He barely heard the sighs of awe and wonder as the people saw their planet from space for the first time and as they bid it farewell for hopefully the last time.

Anakin took them into hyperspace. He'd already picked his destination, one where he knew they would be safest. Out of enemy hands and into the hands of the Republic—and the Jedi. He'd played this game enough times to know the Jedi would never hand back freed slaves. In fact, a handful of the Jedi always stepped in and ensured the freed people dispersed within the Republic and started their lives anew.

More sounds of shock and awe arose from people coming and going on the bridge as everyone witnessed the drop from hyperspace and took in the view. Naboo, in all its beautiful blue and green splendor, grew in the viewport window. Swirling white clouds decorated the beautiful planet and gave it a surreal feel. Anakin had been equally in awe of it when he saw it the first time.

Now it broke his heart. He buried such thoughts and focused on the mission.

He'd already arranged his arrival with a few forged documents and harmless fibs. When he landed the ship and unloaded people instead of cargo, the authorities raised some eyebrows. As expected and desired. A few people lingered on the ship with him.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Kitster asked. "We don't have anything. Where will we go?"

Anakin waved his hand for the others to follow, and a mass of people scurried behind him into the cargo bay of the ship. He used the Force to draw out several crates from where he'd tucked them. He ripped one of the crates apart with a mental tug. Credits, rare metals, and precious gems spilled onto the floor of the cargo bay. He did the same with a second and third crate, until the floor glittered with treasures.

No one moved. The entire group held a collective breath. Eyes stared.

"You," Anakin said, stabbing a finger towards Kitster. "Divide this up equally between the people. It should be more than enough for all of you to start new lives. Here in the Republic, you should be safe from the Hutts or any who desire to enslave you."

Anakin marched to one of the hangar doors and slammed his gloved fist into it to unlock and open it. Flashing lights alerted him of approaching authorities, as he had hoped.

"That is my cue to leave," he said to himself.

Kitster must have heard him, for his childhood friend's eyes followed him through the bay to a smaller ship Anakin had prepped to make his escape.

"Why are you doing all of this?" Kitster asked. His voice cracked. "No one cares about us. We're just slaves."

A shiver swept up Anakin's back and gave him pause. He started to turn back to face his old friend, but he stopped himself. No looking back, only moving forward. He had to keep moving forward.

"I care," he said. He heard his own voice echoed by the voice of Darth Vader. The words sounded strange in the harsh voice of the mass murderer that defined Anakin's true self. He added, "And you are not a slave. You are a person."

At that, he hopped into the small ship and escaped from the hangar before the authorities could block his exit. Sirens wailed at him and someone's voice blasted at him over a loudspeaker, but he shot into the brilliant blue sky and the noises faded.

He reached the fringes of the atmosphere before he felt an uncomfortable prickle at the back of his neck. As he passed from blue to black and climbed into the stars, he saw the streaks of fighters coming at him from a distance. Jedi starfighters, no less. Just as he had planned.

"Very well, Force," Anakin said to the entity, the _thing,_ that brought him into existence. "Where would you like to take me this time?"

He connected a small device to the computer and allowed it to input a set of scrambled coordinates into the system. Digits popped up onto the screen, one after another, and eventually built for him a random destination. In such a way, he'd hopped around the galaxy for the past six months. Once the numbers had been entered, he powered the hyperdrive and prepared to make his escape.

"Into a star would be nice."

He'd anticipated the Force dropping him into a supernova with the random coordinates, but it had yet to kill him. It would eventually deem him unnecessary due to his errant behavior.

" _Anakin Skywalker,_ " arose a voice over the comms that Anakin intentionally kept open. He always wanted to double-check his work and ensure he didn't leave the freed slaves in the hands of a nuisance who wouldn't look after them. He had no such fears now. " _This is Plo Koon. Disengage your engines and surrender. We are under orders to bring you in for interrogation. Resistance is not advised._ "

Funny. Master Plo said the same things the last time.

"Sorry, Master Plo," Anakin said, even though he didn't open an outgoing channel. He engaged his hyperdrive, and the stars blurred. "Take care of them for me."

As the stars streaked around him, a brilliant flash erupted through his viewport. A laser bolt slammed into his vessel and bobbled it. Anakin jerked in his seat and let out a cry of surprise. They'd never fired on him before.

" _Don't fire!"_ Master Plo shouted, his voice distant. It wasn't meant for Anakin's ears but someone else's. " _He isn't to be harmed!_ "

" _Sorry!"_ said the voice of a clone.

The blast stalled Anakin's jump to hyperspace for several seconds. Then the processes reinitiated, and the ships, the planet, and space smeared away into a sea of beautiful blues.


	2. All Roads Lead Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, my friends! It's good to be on yet another adventure with you~ I hope it continues to be enjoyable all the way to the end. Happy reading!!

Anakin cruised across the galaxy via hyperspace for several hours without difficulty. His minor run-in with Master Plo's trigger-happy trooper left no residual damage on the functions of his ship. He traveled without disruption, and all around him were the sounds of mind-numbing, soul-crushing silence.

The visions of his future as Darth Vader screamed for his attention. They'd become less frequent since he bore the mask of Vader and accepted his future self, accepted that he had to make amends for his evils in real, tangible ways. But the visions still assaulted him whenever he had nothing and no one but himself.

Anakin Skywalker bending a knee to Darth Sidious and rising as Darth Vader. The destruction of the Jedi. The enslavement of the clones and the entire galaxy. An Empire built on a foundation of blood and death. Padmé murdered by his uncontrolled anger. Obi-Wan dead by the bitterness that festered in his heart. His children tortured and maimed. Good people destroyed all over the galaxy.

Two decades of terror. He caused it.

The visions took over his mind until the lights in the ship flickered and popped. Anakin jerked out of the world of horrors in his head and glanced around. The lights waxed and waned. He scanned the computer for errors, found some minor issues with the power cells probably disrupted from the minor attack, and then the power went out. The ship dropped from hyperspace and landed helplessly dead in wide-open space.

Anakin shifted in his seat and glanced around. Not a planet or ship in sight. He prodded at the controls of the vessel to no effect. He sighed and flopped back. He would have liked to land in a star, not die slowly of starvation or suffocation in space. Or worse: freeze to death.

That thought alone set him in motion. He rose and went to see if he couldn't resolve the issue from the power grid and mechanical systems accessible inside the ship. As soon as he slipped from the cockpit, the power flickered back on.

Anakin stopped and scanned the cockpit. Everything appeared to be functional and nothing seemed amiss. He slid into the pilot's seat, pulled up the diagnostics charts and skimmed for errors. Aside from the temporary power outage and a switch to a back-up power cell, nothing was wrong. He'd have to review everything in more detail when he had the opportunity to land.

The power outage had reset his coordinates, so he plugged in his scrambling device to set a new destination. It made little difference to him where he went or when he got there. It took its time, and he sat back, folded his arms, and waited.

Visions of another future clamored into his mind, one different than his future as Darth Vader. A destructive beam destroyed Alderaan, and Bail Organa, with young Leia in his arms, blew apart in an explosion. The vision shifted. People gathered in a massive room, many clones and several civilians. Organa passed Leia to a woman and faced Anakin. He sighed. Was that relief?

Then Organa ran towards Anakin. Shouting. He was shouting something, but Anakin couldn't hear. Bail went sideways, and the scene turned red.

A shudder swept up Anakin's spine, and he straightened in his seat. The visions cleared, but an oppressive weight crushed him. He scanned the smattering of stars ahead of him, but nothing had changed and nothing warned of danger. He drew up a scanner of various surroundings but found nothing, only endless, empty space.

The last of the coordinates entered into the computer, so he removed his scrambling device and initiated the jump into hyperspace. Space twisted into a blur. The air tingled, and another tremor went through Anakin's spine and stood his hair on end.

He recognized that cold, creeping darkness. It haunted him every night and day, every time his mind wandered, and sometimes even when it didn't.

Red lights flashed out of nowhere and slammed into his ship. The jump to hyperspace deactivated and his computer malfunctioned, wiping his coordinates from the system. A second light ignited in his viewport before something slammed into his ship. One, two, a dozen ships appeared out of nowhere, concealed by cloaking mechanisms that made them invisible to his pathetic scanners. A few fighters, a flagship.

Not good.

Anakin activated his scrambling device to set coordinates and threw in several of his own. Another blast nearly took him out of his seat. His device continued to plug in numbers.

" _Anakin_ ," said the sickeningly smooth voice of Sidious over the open channel. " _How long must I pursue you? Can you not see and understand that your place is with me? You even go so far as to arrive at my front door. It is fate, child._ "

"Fate," Anakin muttered. He slammed in more coordinates. Silver caught in the corner of his eye. Several fighters dropped into tight formation around him. He stabbed his finger harder on the controls. "You know, Force, for being all about balance, you certainly do find a way to lead me to Sidious often enough."

" _Anakin—_ "

"Shut up," Anakin said.

More fighters swarmed him. He still had a clean shot of hitting hyperspace, but he needed to leave now. They'd had him utterly surrounded. Did the Force decide to drop him right into the thickest enemy airspace in the galaxy?

He didn't fear death, but he feared becoming the thing he hated, and that was the life Sidious offered him. He could not be caught. More torture would come. Endless visions. He couldn't survive that again. He still dealt with the repercussions of it every day.

Two more blows rattled his ship, and alarms raged from the console. Some of the lights died until only a few angry red ones flared in the cockpit.

_"Do not harm him. Disable the hyperdrive,_ " Sidious shouted at someone, still audible over their connection.

"Move!" Anakin yelled over the voice that haunted his memories, past and future. The voice of the man who had been so kind—but wasn't.

" _You cannot run forever, my boy—_ " Sidious called out.

Anakin slammed a fist on the console as the ship rocked from another blow. The engines rumbled as the hyperdrive took over, coordinates or not. The stars and enemy fighters twisted into streaky blurs. The ship successfully lurched to light speed.

The entire frame of Anakin's ship rattled around him, as if coming apart at the seams. A significant alarm went off, and warnings flashed across the screen: hyperdrive offline, power cells failing. Anakin dropped from light speed.

A massive wall of brown greeted him, smothering his full view. Whatever it was, he plummeted towards it.

Anakin yanked up on the controls, but the ship jerked under his hands. He twisted the ship to try to land on its side, to slide and prevent a lethal crash. He'd probably roll several hundred times anyway. Death would be inevitable.

He closed his eyes and sank into the Force. Allowed it to settle over him and the ship. He drew it close. Briefly, he thought to catch his little spiraling ship with the Force and ease it to the ground. He erased everything from his mind and focused on that alone. Ignored the screams of the alarms and trembling durasteel. Ignored the ominous blood-red lights. He imagined plucking the ship up like a little ball and moving it with his mind. He willed the vessel to stop.

It didn't.

It swooshed into what was apparently a brown ocean, and waves of sludge covered the port window. The ship jolted, and Anakin slammed against the console of the ship as it crashed. Darkness followed.

\-----

Darth Vader strangled the life out of all who opposed him. Darth Vader strangled Padmé. Darth Vader murdered Obi-Wan Kenobi. Darth Vader tortured the rebel Leia Organa. Darth Vader cut off the hand of Luke Skywalker.

Visions fired through his mind a dozen times without ceasing.

Anakin lay in a dead and silent world, some place buried deep within his own head. Glowing white sand cradled his body—the body of a nine-year-old child. Above him, black skies devoured the light, so that even the illumination of the sand dulled into nothingness. Red stars speckled the infinite darkness like splattered blood.

The world in Anakin's head used to be brighter. Now ice nipped at his skin and dulled his senses, and he found it hard to catch his breath. Wave after wave of memories pummeled him.

_Anakin,_ said the deep and familiar voice of Qui-Gon.

A ripple of light flashed across the sky as Qui-Gon tried to break through the strange, dark world Anakin built around himself. Anakin pushed back with his mind and with the Force. He closed the little hole in the ceiling of stars so that no light came through.

"Go away," he replied, his words empty and dead. He tired of this game.

_Anakin, please—_

"Go away!" Anakin shouted, and the world shuddered at his voice.

The tendril of light in the sky evaporated and left only darkness. The inkling of warmth and tenderness faded with it. Eerie silence and biting cold followed. Familiar but no longer unwelcome. It was a world of Anakin's own making, one that he brought upon himself and wholly deserved. He would stay here a little while as the Force deemed fit to remind him of all his wrongdoings, over and over again, until reality called him back.

A streak of red cracked the sky like a stream of blood webbing out from a puddle. The ground shook beneath Anakin.

Torture. Maim. Murder. Enslave. Destroy. He watched his life as the perfect villain.

_Anakin!_

"Go away!" Anakin screamed and threw up a fist full of sand, as if it would do any good. Instead, it rained on his face, and he spit at the little grains that hit his lips and tongue. Blinked them out of his eyes and off his eyelashes.

He didn't know why Qui-Gon bothered.

The imaginary world in his head responded to his temper tantrum by closing in around him. The sky sank towards him and threatened to smother him.

_Anakin, wake up!_

Anakin jolted from the recesses of his mind to reality. He flew upright and hit something metal, but his helmet took the brunt of the blow. Nevertheless, his head throbbed. Blood trickled to his lips and tongue, and reflexively, he spit it out. Then he groaned. He'd have to clean his mask later.

He slid out from beneath a computer console where he'd tumbled. All limbs functional and intact. He had to choke down the contents of his stomach. The throbbing in his temples grew worse and spread across his entire head. His pulse hammered at a knot on the left side of his skull.

Could have been a lot worse.

He gasped for air, and he couldn't tell if the lightheadedness was from injury or suffocation. Maybe both.

Dim blinking lights filled the cockpit of his ship. A warning flashed across one of the only illuminated screens, warning of low oxygen levels.

The viewport showed darkness, and several cracks spread through the transparisteel. In the far corner, sludge dripped through a vast network of fractures and formed a slimy puddle on the floor. The cracks groaned and spread.

He'd sunk, and he had no idea how deep or if that sludge was safe to touch, and he wasn't about to risk finding out. Better focused now that the ship wasn't careening towards imminent destruction, Anakin closed his eyes and drew on the Force. He moved the fluids cradling his vessel and lifted the ship, pushing it towards the surface. It took a lot longer than he anticipated, and crushing pain clenched his head by the time brown liquid sloshed off the viewport. Green clouds blanketed the sky, and a wall of red stretched across the horizon. Ground, Anakin hoped.

He used the Force to drag the vessel, bobbing along the brown ocean like a little, rickety boat, towards the line of red. Sharp cliffs materialized before him, tall and commanding. The bottom of his ship scraped along the ground and eventually drew to a stop. Anakin released his grip.

He pressed at the console to run a scan of the atmosphere, but several power cells must have died in the crash. The computer was dead. He maneuvered to the maintenance panel in the ship and manually overrode emergency powers to the computers. When he returned to the cockpit, the control console flashed to life. A quick scan of the atmosphere showed it was breathable, and he opened the hatch to let in a wall of warm but pungent air. Whatever that brown sludge was, it wasn't good.

White noise hissed through the communication console, and a voice broke through.

" _…Commander Rex of the 501st. I repeat: we are in need of immediate assistance! We…"_

Anakin stared at the console as it popped and fizzled. The light indicating an incoming message flashed on and off, struggling to receive the message. The fact that it was receiving it at all meant the sender was near.

The console buzzed.

" _This is Commander Rex of the 501st. We have come under heavy fire and request assistance immediately! Separatists have us surrounded, and we have reason to suspect the holocron is already in enemy hands. I repeat, we need assistance_ now _!"_

The eerie whistle of a torpedo echoed in the background of Rex's voice. An explosion followed, and the connection died. Anakin stared, and his stomach twisted.

Rex and the 501st had to be on planet. They had to be close, and that explosion sounded right on top of them.

Fear twisted in Anakin's gut and crushed his lungs. He panted for air in increasing panic. He hastily stamped down the feelings, for they would do him no good. They betrayed him and would destroy him, and he in turn would destroy everyone around him. Weakness took his legs and he flopped into his seat.

Images flashed through his mind of the destruction of Alderaan and the death of Senator Organa and Leia. Another image superimposed the last, and Bail ran towards Anakin and shouted. What was he saying? Anakin couldn't see clearly enough to read his lips. Darth Vader overtook all such images, and he saw himself terrorizing the galaxy for over two decades.

Anakin stared at the communicator. His eyes slipped to the coordinates he'd tried to enter, but all of his settings had been erased in the crash. The random destination brought him straight to the 501st. In danger, no less. He aimed to run a hand through his hair and hit the helmet instead, which pushed against a sore knot on his scalp. He grimaced.

The communicator flashed and fizzled.

" _…Command…_ " said a jumbled voice through the static. " _…emerg… the Sith…_ "

The connection died again, but needles of ice prickled up and down Anakin's spine. The Sith. Sidious. All roads led him to the same path, whether he liked it or not.

He shook his head. He'd fled from everyone to keep them safe. He couldn't be trusted to make decisions, least of all the right decisions. He'd tried and failed more times than he could count. The 501st might be in danger, but they were in greater danger near him. He would let the clones be enslaved, would march them to their deaths, and would never once stop to reconsider. Because that was his true identity.

Sounds crackled across the line.

"… _facing heavy fire! …casualties…_ " Rex's voice faded into the static.

No one responded.

No nearby Republic vessels spoke over the line. No one answered him. The system should have received transmissions from any nearby vessels. The lack of a response set Anakin on edge and turned that little knot in his stomach around and around. What if no one heard? What if no one came to help?

Anakin sank under the full weight of the future. Of the lives he carried every day. He had tried to do something, in the future, and everyone suffered because of it. He had tried to save Padmé and killed her instead. He destroyed everything and everyone else in the process. Whenever he tried, he failed.

But that incessant knot twisted, and hot tears stung his eyes. Another reason he wore the mask: he had to cover how miserable he was at controlling his emotions. Obi-Wan would be disappointed in him.

Though he feared the repercussions his actions might bring, Anakin could not do nothing.

In and out. He would help the 501st and then escape. No attachments, no risk.

Anakin grabbed his wooden bo staff and climbed out of the ship onto the rocky shoreline. His breath stuck in his throat as fear rippled through him and paralyzed his lungs. He stamped it down, again and again. It would destroy everyone if he let it. He couldn't let it. As he used the Force to climb the cliffs, following his instinct, feeling through the Force, nothing could shake the crippling fear that ate away at Anakin's core, a monster waiting to be unleashed.

He had a really bad feeling about this.


	3. A Rock and a Hard Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, always, for reading, commenting, bookmarking, and kudos-ing, and for your general, all-around support. It's a pleasure to go on this adventure with you! Thanks, all!

Anakin leaned against a wall of red rock at the top of a wide canyon. An endless expanse of dry, dusty rock and some gnarled heaps of stone stretched as far as the eye could see above the canyon walls, and the stones sizzled with exhausting heat.

He didn't have to travel far from his crash site to find the action. Starfighters and gunships whizzed through the air and swarmed like incessant little bugs over the canyon, blotting the green sky with glimmering silver. Explosions erupted from inside the canyon and sent up plumes of pitch-black smoke. The blasts rocked the planet's surface, and fractures spread through the brittle stone of the canyon walls.

An army of droids surged through the canyon in the direction of a pyramid in the distance.

Despite his lingering headache, Anakin was able to use the Force to determine the location of the 501st. They were wedged between the droid army beneath him and the pyramid. Anakin had thought about dragging boulders down on the droids, but he didn't want to collapse the whole canyon and risk the 501st. He'd have to go about his rescue mission the old-fashioned way.

In and out.

Anakin slipped out of his hiding spot and twirled his staff. He leaped off the ledge and hit the floor of the canyon. A wall of droids stood between him and the 501st—stood between the 501st and safety.

Anakin approached the line of foes and reached out his flesh hand. He allowed himself to sink into the twisting monstrosity of the Force, the violent and raging storm that forever whirled inside of him and through him. Let his mind empty. Focused on feeling, not thinking.

"Hey," said the nasally robotic voice of a droid. "What's that?"

Anakin snapped several droids off the canyon floor and hurled them as cannonballs into the middle of their battalion. Several minor explosions and a shower of blaster fire aimed at Anakin followed. Anakin plucked up stones and droids and used them as shields before flinging them at the next wall of enemies.

Two armored assault tanks rolled through the line and fired on him. Anakin dove to avoid the first blast. It smashed the wall alongside him and sent a barrage of rocks over him. He caught the stones and threw them back at the tanks, then flipped one of the tanks over into the army. It exploded and took dozens of battle droids with it.

Anakin rolled forward beneath a cannon shot. It sizzled over his head, close enough that he could feel its heat. He landed on one knee, held out his hand, and hoisted the tank into the air. It would be a shame to waste it. Dodging blaster fire, Anakin jumped from canyon wall to canyon wall and landed on top of the tank suspended in the air. He ripped off the cover, tore out several bewildered droids, and claimed the massive weapon for himself.

He turned the cannon on the droid army and fired. Explosions lit the canyon, and droid parts pattered the stone walls. Rocks tumbled down on the droid army as cracks spread through the canyon. Anakin would have to deal with matters in a less explosive manner if he wanted to keep the whole thing from collapsing.

Anakin hopped out of the tank and dropped it on the army. He landed and lunged into the fight. He swung his staff to fend off the closest droids and built a shield of energy with which he rolled the whole of the droid army away from him. They fired on him, but his shield deflected the shots. He gathered a whole heap of droids on the barrier, hoisted the droids up, and slammed them down. They burst into dismembered body parts and scattered screws and wires.

Silence greeted him on the other side of the carpet of droid parts.

Anakin fell back into himself, and his legs nearly buckled. Pain smashed into his head, and violent tremors seized his body. His chest throbbed. He staggered to the rock wall and grasped it for support. Warm, thick liquid oozed down the back of his throat, and he gagged at the coppery taste of blood on his tongue. His nose gushed blood, and he wiped at it with his gloved hand, only to hit the helmet instead. Blast the helmet! Blood swooshed in his ears and trickled down his neck.

The Order had mentioned he didn't respond particularly well to overusing the Force, but he'd survived the ordeal twice. He'd survive it again. He scratched at the helmet, spit blood out of his mouth, and staggered towards the 501st. He had a job to finish.

Anakin made his way through the canyon to a vast wall of stone. Explosions erupted from the other side, and stray grenades launched over the rocks. Blaster bolts hit them in the air and blew them apart, but hot chunks of explosives and flaming pieces of metal rained down. Rex and his men huddled against the wall of rocks.

A second army of droids waited on the other side.

Upon Anakin's approach, most of the troopers whirled and aimed their blasters at him. Rex glanced back and then spun and stared. It was hard to determine their reactions through their visors, so Anakin wasn't sure if they recognized him in his mask or if he alarmed them because he'd single-handedly waltzed through an army of droids. Or both.

"Who's this guy?" asked a trooper. Someone new, apparently. Anakin's mask was well-known in the galaxy if one paid attention.

Or maybe they didn't recognize him. Anakin could only hope, because he'd just walked into Republic hands when he'd spent so much time running from them. The Jedi had literally been sent on a manhunt after him.

"You need to get out of here," Anakin said, and he remained at a distance. He would run if necessary. He couldn't risk getting caught when he had so much to do.

His voice was the voice of Darth Vader, but he sputtered on his own blood, so it came out wet and slimy. He imagined he sounded something like Grievous, and the thought sent a ripple of bumps across his skin. Not wanting to spit any more puddles of blood into his helmet, he had no choice but to swallow.

Rex shook his head and returned his attention to the gap between the rocks.

"We have a mission to complete," he said. "We need to get to that temple."

"Temple?" Anakin echoed. The pyramid he'd noticed?

"There's an old Sith temple here," Rex said. He peeled himself away from the crevice and faced Anakin. "The Separatists are after a holocron. We're here to keep it out of their hands." He paused, his expression unreadable through his visor. "The Sith holocron are apparently dangerous to Jedi, so we clone troopers have been sent to retrieve them without the assistance of the Order."

Anakin frowned at the comment. Dangerous to the Jedi? Yes, he'd heard as much. Obi-Wan had nearly lost his mind to the influence of the ancient Sith technology. Rex must have mentioned it for Anakin's benefit, to warn him of the danger. Anakin had no sense of the holocron, though.

Perhaps it was because he had spent the past six months dwelling on his life as a Sith, as a dark-side user, that it could no longer influence him. He was already too intimately connected to the dark side.

At the least, Rex confirmed Sidious had convinced the Separatists to join his cause, either by false promises or brute strength. Perhaps he offered a false promise to use his brute strength to upend the Republic for them. The Separatists must have believed by now that Sidious had no interest in defending the Republic, even if he wasn't necessarily their ally. So many pawns in this war, and Sidious kept manipulating the pieces.

"We think the Separatists may already be inside the temple, but we haven't seen any of their ships coming or going from the canyon," Rex said. "There's a chance the holocron is still here. If they want it this badly, it's our duty to keep it from them. At any cost."

"Not at any cost." Anakin said the words without thinking, and Rex and the rest of the troopers faced him. His mask reflected in the visors of their helmets. A few dozen Darth Vaders stared back at him. "Not at the cost of your lives. It isn't worth it."

"It is to us." Rex lowered his blaster but stood taller. "We know what's at stake."

Familiar guilt gnawed at Anakin's chest. The future was at stake. A future of enslavement for the clones at Anakin and Sidious' hands. Rex knew that. They all did.

"We're bringing our landing vessel around, but the pilots can't get close to the temple until the droids are cleared out," Coric said from where he bandaged a wounded trooper's arm.

Anakin's gaze swept over the men he had once served alongside, men whom he had trusted with his life and never would have dreamt of betraying. But he had betrayed them in another life, and he owed it to them to see them through this so they would never know that future. They would leave that planet alive.

"I can get you through," he told Rex.

His head ached in a way it never had before, and his body shook from pain and weakness. He continued to bleed, and he kept swallowing to the point his stomach churned from the blood. Anakin had already pushed too hard. He couldn't risk leading them into battle and collapsing, leaving them vulnerable. He glanced back at the carnage he'd left in his wake.

"Gather all of the grenades, torpedoes, and any other explosives you can find. Put them in a line here at this rock wall. Once you've collected them all, we'll move."

Anakin went back through the droids he'd leveled. With the 501st set to such a task, he could rest for a little while. Reclaim a little bit of his energy before he marched through the next army.

"Planning some kind of chain explosion?" Jesse spoke up from the back of the group. "The chances of the enemy walking into that type of trap are slim to none."

"I'll take care of that," Anakin said. He looked to Rex. "I'll take care of it."

Rex gave no reaction, no indication of his thoughts, and Anakin had wound himself so tightly in the Force that he couldn't perceive what his former clone captain might be feeling. Anakin felt the general unease of the group, but he couldn't distinguish individual emotions.

Rex took one last look through the gap. The enemy army had stopped firing on them, but tanks rumbled on the other side and hundreds of metal feet clattered across stone. Anakin didn't need to see the army to know it was massive. It would be dangerous to face them, but hopefully it would be easier than the first round. He didn't need to worry about the 501st getting caught in the crossfire.

"Do as he says," Rex said, and he tilted his head. "Get the explosives. We have more on our ship—when they come around, get those, too."

With that, Anakin departed from the group. He'd have to find a little privacy and try to clean up the blood pooling in his mask.

It took a significant amount of conscious effort for Anakin to keep his steps straight, to stay upright. Dooku's Force lightning held no candle to the pain coursing through his body then and there. His heart hammered in his chest, and the obnoxious whooshing of blood continued to roar through his ears. Every step sent another pure, raw jolt of agonizing pain up his spine and to his head. But he stepped anyway, because he had to save them this time.

Anakin had to do better this time.


	4. Dex's Diner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and for your continued support~ Have a great one!

"I am sorry, Obi-Wan," Dex said as he wiped off the counter. "I have heard nothing more about Skywalker than what you hear on the holo." The Besalisk shook a broad finger at Obi-Wan, a jovial note in his voice. "Trained him a bit too well, I think."

"Maybe," Obi-Wan said with a thin smile and a tired sigh. He patted the counter before turning back to his table at Dex's Diner. "Please keep me informed if you hear anything."

Obi-Wan sank into his seat and grabbed his cup of Jawa juice but couldn't bother to bring it to his mouth. Another dead end. Another chase across the galaxy that brought him back to Coruscant without Anakin. He sighed again, this one deeper than the last, and rubbed his brow. He'd had a minor headache, constantly, for the past several months.

He had so many people being his eyes and ears across the galaxy, had so many people using their vast networks of informants, and they couldn't pinpoint Anakin's location long enough for Obi-Wan to catch him. Anakin seemed to appear, gain a lot of attention, and then blink out of existence.

If only Anakin realized what sort of trouble he was in. Perhaps he did, and that was part of the problem.

Anakin had to go on his wild spree of beating down pirates and slavers and freeing slaves. Corrupt local authorities deemed him a hazard to civilization and demanded he be imprisoned, and of course the Republic submitted to their complaints due to the threat to trading routes and the danger of turning impartial systems to the Separatists.

Both the GAR and the Order had been subtly ordered to locate and arrest Anakin. Many clones and Jedi still feared Anakin's potential to submit to Darth Sidious, especially since Sidious had reappeared on the fringes of the galaxy hunting for holocrons. Obi-Wan needed to find Anakin first, if to do nothing more than protect him from a system guided by fear that would rather see his potential for harm than his great capacity for good.

Obi-Wan scrubbed his brow. He, at one time, had put more weight towards Anakin's fear and anger than his love and compassion. They were only echoing what he and the Order had believed of Anakin for years.

But Obi-Wan knew better now.

He had just hauled the glass of juice to his lips when he saw the headline flash across the holo screen in the corner of the diner.

_Masked assailant strikes again._

"Dex, the volume!"

Obi-Wan grabbed his glass and darted to the table under the monitor, unceremoniously plopping onto the bench and splashing juice out of his glass to the table and his hand. Dex adjusted the volume of the holo from behind the counter and carried on with his work. Several of the diner's occupants went quiet, dulling the noise to tolerable levels so Obi-Wan could hear.

" _…most recent target was Tatooine, where residents claim he threatened them with a bomb, beat unarmed civilians near to death, and captured their hired workers against their wills and took them from the planet,"_ said the reporter, a Mirialan with a near-yellow complexion. She spoke with dramatic inflections. " _We spoke with one of the victims earlier in Mos Espa."_

A raging Toydarian flashed across the screen in a pre-recorded segment. He flitted around a small market stall and shoved fruits and vegetables from the stand. A Dug flipped a cart behind him.

" _Can you tell us what happened?_ " the reporter asked.

" _Violence! He nearly killed us all and stole everything from us. Our livelihood is gone."_ The Toydarian shoved the tent off the stall. The entire stall tipped and dumped all of his goods to the ground. " _He needs to be brought to justice."_

Behind the Toydarian, the Dug and many others joined in his furious shouts.

" _Bring him to justice!"_

" _Down with the masked one!_ "

The screen flipped back to the reporter safe in her station. She shook her head in dismay at what she heard, clearly feeding in to what the local authorities wanted her to express.

" _We managed to catch up with a group of the workers taken from Tatooine. Most refused to be interviewed, but we did catch up with a young man who wished to remain unnamed. For our purposes, we'll call him KCB. Apparently, he led the captured workers after they were discarded on Naboo,"_ she said.

The screen changed again, and a young man about the same age as Anakin laughed and celebrated with a small group of people before turning his attention to the screen. His form was thin and gaunt, but a light shone in his dark eyes and a curious glow touched his dark complexion. He looked so alive—a freed slave. Tatooine did not know well the concept of hired workers. The young man gave the reporter his attention.

" _Yeah, it was incredible. He came in and had these wizard powers, like a Jedi,"_ the young man exclaimed, and behind him the small group of people cheered. " _He just… picked everyone up and threw them with his mind."_

" _Were you threatened?"_ the reporter asked, clearly trying to make the conversation negative. " _Did at any point you feel unsafe? As though your lives were in danger?_ "

" _What?"_ The young man frowned and then laughed. " _No. He freed us. He saved us. We were slaves. Now we're free."_

Behind him, a chorus of cheers. The reporter presented the young man with a projection of Anakin as the galaxy knew him: a man in a black helmet and shrouded in dark clothes and a billowing black cloak.

" _Is this the man?"_

" _Yeah! That's him._ "

" _This man is a wanted fugitive of the Republic,_ " the reporter said, dismal. The young man's face shifted from pleasure to confusion. The cheers faded. " _He is an armed and dangerous criminal. He is no hero."_

" _But…"_ The young man frowned at the image and glanced at his comrades behind him. He glanced at the screen, then at the image again. " _No, that can't be. You must be mistaken."_

" _He is a threat to the galaxy. He may be working for the Sith."_

" _No."_

" _Do you have any idea where he—"_

" _You're wrong,_ " the young man shouted at her. The entire group of former slaves rose as if to come to his defense. The young man shook his head, and his face hardened with unwavering resolve. " _Don't you understand? We were slaves. The Republic didn't do anything for us. The Republic didn't_ care _about us. But he did."_ The young man pointed at the projection of Anakin in Darth Vader's mask. " _He saved us all."_

The screen switched back to the reporter in the studio.

_"There you have it. Reports suggest the masked assailant left sizeable sums of untraceable treasure and credits with the workers before he escaped. No one was seriously injured during this assault."_

The reporter moved on to the next topic with fluid ease.

The noise in the diner rose, the sounds of chatter and clanking dishes creating a constant roar. Obi-Wan sank in his seat.

Concern and relief waged war in his heart and in his mind. Authorities continued to paint Anakin in a negative light and would likely turn unsavory sorts on him if they thought he posed a threat to their lifestyles. Anakin could fend for himself, but would he? Given how self-destructive Anakin had become after the vision, Obi-Wan wasn't certain he would.

Yet a smile tugged at Obi-Wan's lips. Anakin had freed slaves all across the galaxy. He went where no one would go. He did what no one would do. He saved the people the Republic had failed. And he had done it all by stealing only what had already been stolen and redistributing it into the hands of the innocent.

And, as far as anyone knew, he did so without needless violence. Not a single death could be traced back to Anakin in the entire six months he'd been gone. Even the pirates and slavers he'd raided lived to complain about his antics—thus the corrupt officials always had a lot of eye witnesses to lend credibility to their reports. Anakin's lack of violence actually worked against him.

Pride for Anakin blossomed in Obi-Wan's chest. The vision had hurt Anakin, certainly. It would likely cloud others' perceptions of him for the rest of his life. But Anakin had taken what he learned and made different, better choices. He grew from it. As Anakin's former Master, Obi-Wan couldn't have been more pleased with Anakin's growth, with his ability to take something so horrific and transform it into something beneficial.

Obi-Wan's smile dropped, and the concern overruled the satisfaction. Anakin remained at large, and the more reports that showed his face and told his story, how he threatened the livelihoods of the corrupt, the more danger he'd be in. The more monsters would want to destroy him before he could destroy them.

He had to find Anakin first.

He swept a hand through his hair, chugged the rest of his juice, and rose to leave.

"Keep your eyes and ears open for me, Dex," he called out to the Besalisk in back.

"Take care, Obi-Wan!"

Obi-Wan was halfway through the door when his comlink buzzed with a received text transmission. Not his standard-issue comlink for purposes of the Order or the Army. No, his personal comlink he'd received from Padmé during his attempts at locating Anakin in secret. He stumbled out onto the street as he drew it from the pouch on his belt. His heart raced even as he unlocked the device and opened the message. He'd received so many leads that took him nowhere that it was probably foolish to hope, but he did anyway.

The message was short and to the point.

" _Skywalker._ " Immediately after, a set of coordinates to the west of Coruscant. Not far, but not close enough to be at a familiar planet, either.

Rex had sent the transmission.

Obi-Wan's heart jumped to his throat. Anakin had slipped through many fingers, but Rex more than anyone else might have a chance at holding him.

"Keep him there, Rex," Obi-Wan said to the empty air.

He slammed the comlink into his pouch and raced down the street, bumping past people and whirling around them. He had to get a ship, and a fast one, and he knew exactly whom to ask. He ran, and his heart thrummed faster and faster.

"Just keep him there. I'm on my way."


	5. Foreboding Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, commenting, kudosing, and all the other ways you've supported this story. You're appreciated! Please continue to enjoy~~

At least half a dozen full-size bombs and dozens of smaller torpedoes and grenades had been salvaged from the remains of the enemy army. The troopers had lined the explosive arsenal along the ridge of rocks separating them from the second army of droids. Anakin inspected the weaponry to ensure he had enough firepower.

Rex and his team approached, marching in sync with each other, the perfect unit, the perfect company to get the job done. Only, Anakin couldn't shake the sinking feeling in his gut. Something wasn't right.

Horrific images flooded Anakin's mind of Darth Vader consuming the galaxy and killing everyone, Bail and Leia dying in an explosion, Bail running towards him and turning sideways, and Alderaan falling to the Death Star. An endless torrent of nightmares crushed him.

He suffocated under some inexplicable weight gifted to him by the Force. Sometimes he and the Force really didn't get along.

"Well?" Rex said to Anakin as he approached. He held his helmet against his side.

Rex hadn't given Anakin any sign that he recognized him in the helmet. He must, because Anakin's mask was on every holo and billboard across the galaxy, but he'd received no "sir" or "General" or even a "Skywalker" to confirm his suspicions.

Most of the men behind Rex had already helmeted up and had blasters engaged and ready.

"I don't like this," Anakin said through the deep voice processor in his mask. He hoped it would make it sound more chilling and foreboding. More worth considering. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Rex stared into the eyes of the mask. Anakin looked down even though his eyes couldn't be seen.

"For whatever reason, Sidious and the Separatists are after that holocron. It's our duty to stop them from getting it," Rex said. His tone, his words, and his rigid back told Anakin he would not negotiate. "We have a mission to complete and will see it through to the end."

Anakin opened his mouth, but only a puff of air came out where he intended words. In the back of his mind, he saw the destruction of the 332nd Company and saw their helmets on posts in a graveyard of snow. He saw the rest of the 501st march into slavery behind him as he annihilated the Jedi and brought forth the Empire that treated them no better than tools to be used and discarded.

He had to make amends for that—had to make it right.

"Fine," he said, but the foreboding feeling nagged at his mind and turned his stomach. "I'll do what I can to clear a path to whatever temple you're trying to reach. Just… be careful."

Anakin let his mind dip into the violent power of the Force and allowed it to run over and through him like a surge of electricity that stung through every muscle and bone. He stretched out his hands, lifted the explosives into the air, and spread them over the full length of the canyon ahead of them. He positioned grenades and torpedoes along the lips of the rock walls.

Somewhere off in the distance, droids shouted, and blasters fired.

Anakin clenched his hands into fists and swung his arms down. He hurled the explosives down into the cliffs and the droid army within the canyon. The stone walls imploded and collapsed. Metal crunched under boulders. Explosion after explosion echoed through the canyon and shook stones and dust over Anakin's head. Tongues of fire licked the air.

Part of the rock wall fell and revealed the droid army on the other side. Tanks and droids crunched under blazing red stone before being devoured by flames. The remaining droids turned their sights on him. Anakin grappled the stone wall and thrust it forward with the Force. He pushed a ball of stone, crippled tanks, destroyers, and battle droids over the oncoming army to give the troopers a little room, and Anakin stepped back.

"Take it, boys!" Rex shouted, and he led his men into the carnage Anakin had created with the explosives. Blasters fired and grenades launched, sending crippling explosions through the canyon.

Anakin leaned against a wall. His head throbbed, and he couldn't tell if it was because of the earlier injury, from abuse of the Force's power, lack of sleep, or from the supposed holocron on the planet. Not that it made much difference—it hurt, regardless of the cause. He scrubbed his forehead and got the helmet instead and growled at the stupid mask that kept him from wiping his face.

The subtle taste of blood in the back of his mouth turned his stomach over. That was getting annoying.

Frustrated at his body's defiance towards his attempts at being a tolerable human being, Anakin ripped himself off the wall and stormed after the 501st. Dwelling on his weakness wouldn't help. Action helped and would save lives. He would not let the 501st fall to harm this time.

He had to keep moving.

Anakin dashed into the fray, bypassing troopers and batting battle droids with his bo staff. He used the Force with each blow and sent the droids soaring. Never looking, never thinking, only striking at what came in front of him, Anakin moved forward. When destroyers rolled into his path, he dropped boulders on them. When tanks came at him, he hoisted them into the air and flung them over the rest of the lingering droids.

The temple rose into view as they drew closer, ominous with its blood-red stones and jagged spires. The pyramid structure sat in the middle of a wide crater at the end of the canyon. Ruins of red stone surrounded the temple as though it had once been protected by an outer wall. Rex and the others broke through the droids and marched straight to the flight of stairs that led to the temple's massive entrance.

Anakin stumbled up the stairs.

That wretched, nagging feeling in the back of his mind screamed at him, told him to turn back. He felt a tingle in the air, familiar but not. Force lightning. The dark side. Something wicked, cold, and cruel. Familiar because it was a part of who he was even though he wanted to deny it. He shivered as he reached the top of the stairs where Rex barked out commands to his men.

"Bring the ship around. Cover the perimeter and ensure nothing tries to surround us. If our enemies are inside, don't let them escape. Move!"

Chills wriggled over Anakin's skin. His hair stood at the back of his neck. A blanket of death and smothering darkness fell over him. He knew the feeling well, for he would live in its shadow for the next two decades.

"Sidious is here," he muttered to no one in particular, but Rex and several troopers froze and gave him their full attention.

"You're certain?" Rex asked. Disbelief riddled his voice.

Anakin tried to nod, but his head wouldn’t move. Visions flooded his mind of death and devastation. Planets destroyed, people enslaved. Death upon death upon death. His future, the future he ushered in to the galaxy. It was here. Everything led him here.

"Yes." Panic strangled his throat and pinched his words. "You have to leave."

Rex faced Anakin, but the helmet concealed his reaction. Anakin could only imagine the disbelief and the frustration the clone captain—no, commander—probably wore in response to his cowardice.

"If Sidious is here, we have an opportunity to end this," Rex said.

Thirty or so men gathered around him, ready to infiltrate. The rest of the battalion scattered as Rex had ordered.

"You won't," Anakin replied in a pathetic squeak. It didn't sound any better coming out in Darth Vader's voice. "He'll kill you all."

"A risk we have to take." Rex waved a hand to his men, signaling them forward. "Let's move—"

"Wait!" Anakin planted himself in front of the men. "You don't understand how powerful he is."

"We do, but it doesn't matter. We have to try."

Rex took a firm tone, as if he intended to remind Anakin of something Anakin should already know. But Rex hadn't faced Sidious—he didn't understand.

"If we succeed, we can end this war and save countless lives," Rex explained, not without a sizzling heat to his words that made Anakin feel small. "If we die, we die. What difference does it make compared to the alternative future we're offered?"

Anakin shrank. The alternative future Anakin offered them. He would destroy them as he did everything else. He could not let that happen. He did not bring them to the temple to watch them all die.

"Let's go—" Rex shouted to his men, and as one they moved to the gaping entrance of the temple.

"Wait!"

Anakin ran ahead of them. The temple cast a long shadow over him. Slits for windows lit the inside of the structure, but it remained dark. Ominous.

"I'll come with you," he said to the troopers. His voice continued with that pathetic, warbling squeak. He couldn't catch his breath. "Stay behind me." He faced forward into the darkness. "I'll lead."

"I would expect nothing else, sir," Rex said. He drew up alongside Anakin, his blaster raised and ready to fire.

Anakin proceeded through the temple at a sprint. Anything less and his legs probably would have given out on him. His sheer momentum carried him. He ran up flight after flight of stairs that wound through the pyramid towards the high peak. The whooshing of blood and the clatter of armor that echoed through the stones roared through his ears.

Pain cut through his head and grew more wretched with every step. Darkness closed in around his vision. Memories of a terrible future flashed through his mind, then memories of his mother's death and how he failed her. Memories of all his shortcomings as a Padawan and all the disappointment Obi-Wan expressed towards him. Obi-Wan walking away as flames devoured Anakin. Sidious seeking Anakin, saving him, when everyone else wanted him dead.

Anakin blew down the two massive doors at the top of the temple with a shove from the Force. The doors clattered inward. A broad room with a pointed ceiling waited on the other side. A few rays of light struggled through tall, narrow windows, but darkness quickly engulfed the lackluster sunbeams. It reminded Anakin of the High Council chamber at the Temple on Coruscant, cold and unforgiving.

Anakin marched forward and stopped, and the clone troopers fanned out on either side of him, covering the walls so nothing and no one would slip in behind them. They turned on their headlamps to brighten the dark space.

Another quiver of gut-wrenching agony shot through Anakin, and he curled in over himself as pain tightened every muscle in his body. A few of the troopers shone their lights on him in surprise. A vision flashed over reality, and Anakin saw all of the troopers dead on the floor. Darkness slithered around him. Death everywhere.

His head snapped up at the light patter of footsteps, and all of the troopers' lights swiveled forward.

Sidious stepped around one of the pillars, an unassuming smile on his face. In one hand he held a red, crystal holocron fastened in black metal. He raised the other hand.

"No!" Anakin screamed. He felt the pulse in the Force that twisted the air, that reached out like Sidious' cold, dead fingers towards his allies.

Every last trooper was swept off their feet by invisible hands fastened around their throats. Their blasters fell and their legs kicked. Sidious allowed only a few choked cries before he crushed their throats.


	6. A Light to be Feared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now, how to rile up readers: kill some clone troopers. Good to know. Thanks so much for your continued support, friends! Please enjoy~

Anakin flung out his hand and pushed against Sidious' powers with his own. He grappled at the vise grip squeezing the troopers' throats, pushing against Sidious' grip only enough to keep their necks from breaking. Even then, the choked sounds they made as they hung in the air sent a cold knife through Anakin's chest. Sidious turned his cruel eyes but pleasant smile on Anakin, and he pushed back. Their powers wrestled, and Anakin crumbled under Sidious' relentless strength. He dropped to one knee but did not let go.

"Well met, my boy," Sidious said in his usual gentle tone. A father's tone, and that only made it worse. "I knew you would come. All roads lead us to each other. It is inevitable, and I do wish you would not fight it."

Memories. Violence. Death. So many thoughts ricocheted through Anakin's head that he couldn't focus. He reeled in his thoughts to one thing only: keep the troopers alive. Keep their airways open. Resist or die trying.

"S-stop," he said. It was all he could get out through his own breathlessness. Blood flooded the back of his throat and gushed from his nose.

Sidious didn't even seem bothered by Anakin's resistance. He maintained the cool air about him. Not a trace of sweat on his brow.

"Do you not see?" Sidious took a step forward. Shadows swam over his pale face half covered by his cowl. "You will bend your knee to me. You cannot avoid it. Your resistance will only cause you and others harm."

Anakin choked on his blood. He spit out some and swallowed the rest. His power slackened, and he heard the strangled cry of a trooper as his neck snapped. Anakin pushed harder against Sidious, but compared to the Sith Lord, he felt so weak. Had Darth Vader been this weak?

"I will… not," Anakin said through gritted teeth. His entire body burned. Flames devoured him. The fires of Mustafar. Obi-Wan walked away. Sidious came for him instead. Red covered his vision.

"You will, if for no other reason than to destroy me." Sidious lowered his hand. "You will never defeat me as you are now. You will never reach the level of power necessary to match me. You have seen the future, and you know this as well as I." He talked at Anakin like a pitiable child. "I am stronger now than ever before. I saw my shortcomings. You will never touch me unless you embrace this power as I have."

"Why," Anakin said. His vision blurred. Dead bodies of clone troopers blinked in and out of existence around him. A vision. Not real, not yet. "Why would you… want me to accept that power… if you know I will destroy you?"

Sidious shifted. His back straightened, and he folded his arms into the billowing sleeves of his cloak. His brow furrowed.

"Because I know when you embrace it, you will understand. You have been led astray by people who do not care for you as I do. When you accept what I tell you, you will realize your error and return to me." Sidious strolled away from them towards the back of the room. His robes swished along the stone floor. "We have the opportunity to change everything. To save those you love from harm. To prevent that dreadful future. When you again taste this power, you will realize we can do everything differently."

"Why would I… ever trust you?"

"It isn't a matter of trust, my boy. It is a matter of motives. You and I are the same." Sidious paused and glanced over his shoulder at Anakin. "We have both been let down by the systems in place. The Republic failed to protect you as a child, and the Jedi failed to protect your mother. The systems are broken, Anakin. We must change them."

Flickers of the horrific future echoed through Anakin's head. Screams. Wails of agony. So much death and suffering. He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts. The alternative future was no better.

Anakin still agreed with him, though. The systems had failed so many. But so had Anakin. How much blame could he place on the system? Was he not the one at fault? He hadn't freed the slaves. He hadn't freed his mother. He hadn't won the war. He had been reckless, foolish, and arrogant. Anakin had caused endless suffering for years. What Sidious said resonated with him, but the problem wasn't the Republic or the Jedi at all—he was the common denominator. He would not deflect blame any longer.

Sidious' face hardened as he seemed to recognize Anakin's thought processes. He tipped back his head, and his eyes narrowed.

"You will see and understand. Your path is inevitable. I will show you how far I have come and how necessary it will be for you to join me." Sidious turned away, but his voice echoed through the vast room. "I only wish it did not have to come to this."

All the troopers dropped to the floor in a wave, and the pressure hammering against Anakin vanished. He crumbled along with them. Tremors seized his body, and flashes of hot and cold ripped through his flesh. Sidious blurred into a wisp of muted colors in the lights and shadows.

Sidious flicked his hand in the air, and the entire wall blasted outwards. Brilliant light poured over him. As he leaped into empty air, several of the clones scrambled for their blasters, got to their knees, and fired on him. None hit. Sidious vanished over the edge, but a small vessel had been waiting for him. It shot away with him and disappeared in a streak of silver. The intense pressure, the suffocating darkness, faded with him into the green sky.

The temple rumbled. Dust and splinters of stone fell from the ceiling. The knot in Anakin's stomach tightened. Sidious had left, yet his ill feelings only intensified. The floor shook underneath him and sent another round of chills through him.

"Something's wrong," Anakin said.

He hauled himself to his feet and staggered to one of the pillars. It cracked under his weight and toppled. Part of the ceiling came down with it, but one of the troopers grabbed and pulled him away to avoid the collapse. Another pillar split and fell against the tremors.

Death. Death engulfed them. There was no escape. Anakin saw a brilliant light, but it wasn't a good thing. A flash, and they were all dead. No escape. Instant. Painless, but inevitable. Rex. Coric. Jesse. All of them, dead. Because he led them here.

_Run, Anakin!_ Qui-Gon's voice echoed in the far recesses of Anakin's mind.

"Get out," Anakin said. His entire body shook from sheer terror. He'd known this feeling before, but never so intensely. It crushed his chest. He shoved the trooper nearest to him. "Get out! Now!"

Anakin sprinted towards the door. No one questioned him. They followed. A dark cloud settled over Anakin through the Force and permeated every thought he tried to maintain. The door would lead to death; that was all he knew.

"Stop!" he screamed.

They had to find another way. He whirled to the hole Sidious created. He ran to the edge and looked down. A vast chasm stood between the temple and the plateau on the other side where their ship had landed. Close. Another ship settled beside it in a cloud of dust. The entire canyon shook, and stones fell away from the cliffs. The stone creaked and groaned, in the throes of death.

"Jump," Anakin yelled at the clones. He backed away and prepared to run and leap for it. They'd never make it, but he'd carry them. The floor of the temple split underneath them. The entire ceiling crashed down. "Go!"

Rex slid alongside him, halted for only a moment at a massive crack in the floor, and sprinted for the ledge.

"Move!" he ordered his men.

A line of troopers ran after him. Anakin waited until all had made the leap and hoisted them through the air to the safety of the plateau on the other side. Or what should have been safety. The rocks gave way, but Anakin gave another shove to move them to more stable ground. Even then, the stones cracked like fragile ice beneath their feet.

Anakin ran and lunged to meet them, using the Force to give himself a push. His mind registered no pain or weakness. Nothing at all. When he hit the stone plateau and rolled, he bounced onto one knee and threw out both hands. He found the clones in the canyon below and hauled the entire group up and flung them towards the ship. The temple fell in a great cloud of smoke, and the canyon followed. Stone folded and collapsed. Massive scars tore through the ground in every direction, and jagged spears of stone ripped upwards as the planet tore apart at the seams.

"Get to the ship," Anakin screamed, and he no longer cared if terror tainted his voice. A few clones lingered, and he slammed them into motion with the Force. No one left behind. He tailed the group to make certain of it. "Get off the ground! Now!"

The second ship opened, and Master Plo and several clones poured out onto the unstable ground. Master Plo immediately halted and waved a hand in the air for his men to stop.

"Get back to your ship," Anakin yelled at them as he sprinted after Rex and the others. "Get back in the air!" For good measure, he shoved them to their ship, too.

The ground ripped out underneath their landing ramp. Master Plo asked no questions. He whirled and flung his men into the ship with the Force. They were off the ground before Anakin made it to the 501st's ship.

Anakin dove into the vessel, caught by the hands of several troopers, as the ship struggled off the ground. It puttered as its engines came to life. Too slow. Too cautious. Beneath them, the red stone crumbled away and massive chasms spread through the whole of the land. Anakin shouldered past the troopers to the bridge.

"Faster!" Anakin shouted at them. The pilot lifted them into the atmosphere as if on a leisure flight. "Get us into space! Get us out of here!"

The light in Anakin's mind flashed again. Brilliant. Dazzling. Devastating. They were all dead.

"Get out of the way."

Anakin shoved the trooper aside and barely heard the angry retorts. He adjusted all of the ship's sources of power to the engines and cranked them as hard as they could go. The ship roared at the violent energy, but the vessel gave a lurch. By then, no one spoke. No one understood. Even he didn't understand, but the knot twisted. Tighter. Brilliant light. Death. Anakin choked and pushed the controls even as they tore out of the atmosphere into what should have been the relative safety of space.

They weren't safe. It was too late.

"Faster!" Anakin turned the life support over to the engines. Slammed on the controls to move the ship. It sped into the stars, but a ring of light closed in around them from the edges of the viewport.

"W-what is that?" a trooper exclaimed from deeper in the ship.

Anakin jabbed his bo staff into the controls to hold them in high gear. He swung out of the seat and faced backwards, towards the planet. Light streamed in through every visible port on the back end of the ship. He held his hands out at the air, towards the planet, towards the death he knew was coming.

Master Plo and his ship were safe. They'd escaped before them. Anakin could feel them in the distance, just out of reach. Good enough.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. Pushed the ship with all the strength he could muster. He felt a horrific heat like the flames of Mustafar crawling over him and over their ship. Felt it consuming them. Death swallowed them. He built a shield against it, but it cracked the instant he formed it. He pushed more energy into it whilst moving their ship with the Force.

The light went over them, filled the ship from top to bottom, and blinded them.

Anakin felt a wave of sheer agony course through him as he went to the floor.

\-----

A red light blinked.

Anakin rolled over on the cold, hard floor of the ship. Red warning lights flashed throughout the bridge. The frigid, searing terror had passed. Only a void remained in Anakin's mind. He couldn't think. Couldn't concentrate. Blood poured from his face into the helmet to the point he choked on it. That alone made him climb off the floor, but he had to use a chair to pick himself up. He rose and stood front and center of the viewport window of the bridge.

The ship had turned backwards.

His heart crashed into his stomach and nearly dragged him back to the floor.

The planet had been ripped apart. One half of it remained intact, but the other half had shattered. Chunks of the planet floated in orbit like moons. In the distance, a silver partial-sphere the size of a small moon drifted into the stars.

It was smaller than he remembered, crudely put together, but the effects were essentially the same.

Armor clattered as clones rose. A few staggered closer to Anakin and halted when they took in the view. Rex ripped off his helmet.

"W-what was that?" he asked.

"The Death Star," Anakin said. His voice sounded dead even to his own ears.

Image after image of Alderaan's destruction played over the images in front of him. Tarkin destroyed the planet, but Vader forced Leia to watch. A second image overlaid the first: Alderaan shattered, and Bail and young Leia died. The Death Star was real, it was here, and it would kill them.

Anakin could stop nothing. All roads led him to this place. To the Death Star. To Sidious. To devastation. He would fail, no matter what.

He turned away from the image, but his knees buckled and he fell. Rex dropped his helmet and caught Anakin, lowering him to the floor. Coric materialized alongside him, and several others hovered over them. Anakin stared up at them through the mask.

Something beeped. A trooper hit a console, and a few lights flashed on the bridge. A holoprojection of Master Plo appeared near the viewport so that Anakin could barely see him. Anakin, cast in shadows and clad in black, probably couldn't be seen at all.

" _Commander Rex, are you all well?"_ he asked. Genuinely concerned, as always, for the well-being of others.

"We are, General," Rex said in a puff of air. He scrubbed his forehead before settling his hand on Anakin's shoulder.

" _Good."_ A minor pause. " _We know Skywalker boarded your vessel. Rendezvous with us at the coordinates I'm sending you. We'll take him off your hands._ "

Rex's brow furrowed. Unrest swirled through his eyes. Several of the helmetless clones exchanged glances that Anakin couldn't interpret. A comlink beeped. Rex flapped a hand at the trooper near the holoprojector and then cut his fingers across his throat. The trooper turned off the projection but scratched his helmeted head in confusion. Rex pulled a civilian comlink from a case at his side and pressed a button.

" _Rex! It's Obi-Wan. I'm nearing the coordinates. Is Anakin still with you?"_

Rex lowered the comlink without answering. He dropped his gaze to Anakin. Emotions rippled across his face, but Anakin couldn't make sense of it. Briefly, Rex's hand on Anakin's shoulder tightened. The clone commander glanced at Jesse near a console in back.

"Are any of the escape pods still functional?"

Jesse raised an eyebrow but turned and poked at the computer. The screen eventually came back to life at his prodding, and he sifted through a few screens of data.

"All, sir."

Rex waved at the man at the holoprojector, who flicked Master Plo back into existence.

"Sorry, sir. We seem to be having some technical difficulties," Rex said. "I regret to inform you that Skywalker is no longer with us. It seems he slipped out in an escape pod during the chaos."

Anakin frowned.

" _I see. That is unfortunate,_ " said Master Plo, and something in his voice didn't sound bothered at all. " _Very well. Rendezvous with us at the coordinates. We'll see you soon."_

"Understood, sir." Rex waved a hand, and the projection cut out.

"Commander," a helmeted trooper said with mild hesitation. "This is…"

"Treason," Rex said. He glanced around at his men. "Any complaints?"

A few men exchanged glances, but no one said anything.

Anakin frowned at all of it. He didn't understand. His head hurt.

"General Kenobi," Rex said into the civilian comlink. "We have Skywalker. We're leaving him for you in an escape pod. He doesn't seem to be well, and he may require medical attention. But we've done all we can for him."

" _Thank you, Rex. I'll be there shortly."_ Emotion flooded Obi-Wan's voice. Relief?

Rex gazed at Anakin. A smile crept to his lips, satisfaction brightening his face, and then he dipped his head backwards in suggestion.

"Let's kick him off the ship."

Coric returned the grin and nodded. Together, Rex and Coric dragged Anakin to his feet. Each took one of his arms across their shoulders. Anakin's vision blinked in and out.

His entire body went slack. Someone shouted at him. Darkness claimed him yet again.


	7. Reunited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, always, for reading and supporting this story in whatever ways that you do. You are appreciated!

Obi-Wan leaned back in his chair and scanned the datapad. The Council had sent him information on various sightings of the Death Star, but the lethal war vessel disappeared somewhere in the northwestern quadrant of the galaxy. One eye-witness report stated an extra moon appeared in their sky for several hours and then suddenly vanished in a blink.

Like everyone on the Council, Obi-Wan feared a large-scale cloaking device.

Anakin muttered in bed across the room. Obi-Wan didn't think much of it since Anakin had tossed and turned nonstop since Obi-Wan brought him to Corellia. But the thrashing intensified, and Anakin grasped at the bedcovers and writhed as though in great agony. A ripple of pain flashed through the Force, which apparently Anakin did not block as successfully while sleeping.

If what he did then and there could be considered sleep.

Obi-Wan set the datapad aside and went to the bed. He placed a hand on Anakin's scorching forehead; despite a couple trips into a cold shower, his fever had yet to relent. At the contact, Anakin stilled. He grumbled about something or another. Usually, he talked in his fitful sleep about his mother or Padmé and the twins. Several times he muttered at or about Obi-Wan, to Obi-Wan's surprise. Often, he apologized. For what, Obi-Wan could only imagine.

"Rest, Anakin," Obi-Wan whispered.

Anakin quieted, so Obi-Wan removed his hand. It took no more than five seconds for Anakin's face to twist and for the muttering to start again.

Obi-Wan stood alongside the bed and watched Anakin twist, lost in the miserable thoughts in his head. Sometimes the Force, so good and just to others, seemed so cruel to Anakin.

Obi-Wan had removed the awful helmet of Darth Vader, only for pools of blood to spill out over Anakin's head and clothes. Whatever he had done prior to Obi-Wan collecting him out of the escape pod, he'd pushed himself too hard. It was the same as Tatooine and the HoloNet Station. Anakin pushed and pushed, and not even the Force could shield him from the harm he caused himself.

Obi-Wan had brought Anakin to Corellia and did what he could for him, but he didn't dare bring him to a medcenter lest they recognize him. He knew, like before, that Anakin would likely recover, but he was becoming less confident of it. Anakin still appeared more corpse than man, pale and with dark rings around his eyes. His skin clung to sickeningly prominent bones.

Anakin had not taken care of himself in the time they were apart.

With a sigh, Obi-Wan turned back to his seat, but Anakin let out a clipped shout and twisted violently over the bed.

"No," he said to whatever played in his mind. "No. Stop!"

Another flash of terror shot through the Force. Anakin whipped himself sideways and nearly threw himself to the floor. Obi-Wan dropped to the edge of the bed and caught Anakin's shoulders to steady him.

"Anakin," he said. This had gone on long enough. "Anakin, you are safe. It's all right."

His former Padawan struggled away from his hands. Anakin shouted again, squirmed, and gasped for air. Sweat shone on his skin, soaked the bedding, and plastered his already matted hair to his head.

"Leia—" Anakin shouted, agonizing panic crippling his words.

"Anakin!"

Anakin flew awake and took an enormous gulp of air, as though coming up out of water. Obi-Wan grabbed his shoulders to steady him, half expecting Anakin to jump to his feet and start fighting. Anakin stared ahead at the silver wall of the room, eyes glazed and unfocused. His attention snapped to the hands on his shoulders and lastly to Obi-Wan. His gaze made it halfway to Obi-Wan's face before faltering. He stared at the blanket, listlessly.

The already dismal connection between them snuffed out as Anakin came to his senses and closed Obi-Wan out.

"You're all right now," Obi-Wan said. He let one of his hands slip away but kept the other tight on Anakin's shoulder. Intense heat burned through the contact.

A dozen different emotions flashed through Anakin's eyes, one after another, and then his head snapped up and he inhaled a sharp breath.

"The Death Star!"

He flung the blankets aside and whirled his legs over the side of the bed. Obi-Wan had to catch his shoulders again, because Anakin nearly toppled sideways in his rush.

"The Order and the Republic are monitoring the situation," Obi-Wan said. "There's nothing more you can do."

"But…" Anakin gasped for air and clawed at his chest in a panic. His eyes remained resolutely fixed on the floor. He still wouldn't make eye contact with Obi-Wan.

Anakin flinched and brought his fingers ruefully to the knot on his head where Obi-Wan earlier had cleaned blood. He frowned as though not expecting it to be there, and then he went still and quiet. His eyes glossed over.

Obi-Wan retracted both hands from Anakin and watched as his former Padawan flitted away into another reality that Obi-Wan couldn't reach. Where Obi-Wan could not help him.

"That planet," Anakin whispered, and tears wet his eyes. "The people…"

"No one lived there." Obi-Wan leaned back. "The Sith ruled the planet long ago. War chased off the rest of the inhabitants very quickly, it seems."

Anakin blinked several times, and his brow furrowed. He scrubbed at his eyes to rid himself of the tears. His shoulders and back slumped, and his head dropped.

"You did everything you could. Thanks to you, the 501st and Master Plo and his men escaped." Obi-Wan took Anakin's shoulder again. "What Sidious does is not your fault."

Anakin dropped his head into his hands, covering his face. A shudder went through him, from emotions or fever, perhaps both, and then he sat up straight on the edge of the bed. He avoided Obi-Wan's face by staring off at a lamp on the bedside table.

"Am I to be imprisoned?"

"Should you be?" Obi-Wan asked. He folded his arms into the billowing sleeves of his tunic and frowned at Anakin.

"Yes," Anakin answered without hesitation. His eyes fell to the blanket bunched beside him, and he wrung his hands between his knees. "But I have things I must do first. Will you turn me in?"

Anakin had no idea what things had been set in motion since he'd left and begun his reign of terror against the galaxy riff-raff. He didn't know how divided everyone was concerning him. The Order, the Senate, the Army, the public—some wanted him brought to justice, others cheered for the justice he brought to the galaxy. With his image plastered on the holo and on billboards across the galaxy, Anakin probably assumed he was hated by all. Obi-Wan wasn't certain how Anakin would respond to being told otherwise, particularly since last they'd met, Anakin felt with complete and utter certainty that everyone wanted him to cease to exist. Obi-wan decided it best to say nothing on the matter lest he provoke an argument.

"What do you intend to do?" he asked Anakin.

"Stop the Death Star. Stop Sidious."

His words bore a significant weight Obi-Wan couldn't distinguish. Guilt? Shame? Responsibility? Without a doubt, Anakin blamed himself in their present timeline for things Darth Vader did, things that now Sidious did without him. Such a dangerous line Anakin walked.

"It seems our intentions are the same," Obi-Wan said. "Very good. I'll allow you to accompany me rather than have you arrested."

Anakin frowned. A puzzled little frown like he was getting roped into something and he wasn't sure how it happened.

"Thank you?"

Obi-Wan resisted a grin. So there was a little Anakin left in him after all. Not just the morose young man who had tumbled out from the aftermath of the vision. Obi-Wan shifted as though to rise but stopped. He wondered if he couldn't wheedle a little more of his dear friend back into existence. Obi-Wan gently clasped Anakin's chin and tipped up his head. His thumb ran along Anakin's jawline where a sad trace of facial hair had started to sprout.

"What's this?"

"What?"

"This here on your face."

Anakin frowned and reached for his jaw. Obi-Wan removed his hand so Anakin could feel the place in question.

"It's a beard."

Obi-Wan leaned back, crossed his arms, and bit his tongue to stop the grin. He nodded as mildly as he could.

"I see. From a certain point of view, I suppose one might call that tuft of fuzz a beard."

Anakin dropped his hand and scowled at him. A legitimate scowl. No eye contact, but Anakin's eyes at least made it to Obi-Wan's cheeks before he realized what he was doing. He huffed at Obi-Wan and slouched again.

"Please go shave whatever that is off your face, it's doing you no favors." Obi-Wan patted Anakin's shoulder and then rose. He looped one thumb in his belt and waved the other hand towards a closed door on the other side of the room. "There's a refresher. Get cleaned up. Then meet me down the hall for a meal."

Obi-Wan turned to the door leading out of the room. He'd almost made it out.

"Where's my mask?"

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest and turned to face Anakin again. He'd hated that mask in the future that seemed to have stolen his friend—his brother—from him. Seeing Anakin wear it in the present, owning it, stirred up distasteful feelings in him a Jedi ought not feel or dwell on. Anakin may not have chosen Darth Vader in this lifetime, but he still claimed the face. He claimed those insidious actions and decisions even though he never made them, and they whittled away at his confidence and hope. Obi-Wan still very much hated that mask.

"Truly, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, and he set his hands on his sides. "You are hardly wearing any clothing, and you are concerned about your mask?" He waved his hand at the door leading out of the room. "Were you planning on strolling out to dine with me in your undergarments?"

Anakin shifted awkwardly on the bed and seemed to notice for the first time he wore only shorts. He scowled again, this time at the floor, and scratched uncomfortably at his cheek.

"Maybe, in my mask."

Oh. There it was again. His cheeky Padawan blinking back into existence.

Obi-Wan covered his satisfaction with a dramatic eye roll, and he pressed the tips of his fingers to his forehead.

"Well, that's too bad. I have no intention of dining with you in your underwear." He waved again at the refresher. "You have a change of clothing in the refresher. You can have your mask _after_ we eat. I have no desire to share a meal with Darth Vader today or any day. I'd much rather share a meal with my friend, Anakin Skywalker."

He turned and stalked to the door. Anakin said nothing and made no sounds. Obi-Wan turned back on him and found Anakin blinking at the floor, halfway between bewildered and frustrated.

"And for the record, I would dine with Anakin Skywalker in his undergarments light years before I would dine with Darth Vader in any capacity." Obi-Wan flapped his hand in the air. "Just so there's no… no confusion."

A ghost of a smile turned Anakin's lips, but he dropped his head to hide his face the way he always did when covering his emotions. Anakin gave a slight shake of his head.

Familiar warmth bloomed in Obi-Wan's chest. He'd missed that smile and the nuanced gestures. Missed teasing the boy he'd watched grow into a man and loved as a brother. A great weight lifted from Obi-Wan's shoulders as he took in the young man whom he thought lost but now had found.

"Get cleaned up and meet me down the hall," Obi-Wan said, gently. Then he firmed up his tone and added, "And don't even try to escape. Even you wouldn't be able to wiggle through that window in there."

Anakin's smile grew, but Obi-Wan shuffled out the door.

He'd brought Anakin to a hotel that partnered with a restaurant. Of course he worried Anakin might try to run from him, but he'd left a very belligerent astromech droid monitoring the perimeter to alert him of mischief. Obi-Wan somehow doubted it would come to that.

He placed their order for food so that it would be ready for Anakin by the time he came out. He sat at a table and returned to his datapad to find no new information on the Death Star's whereabouts. It couldn't quite be called the Death Star, necessarily, because it was apparently smaller and weaker than the monstrosity they knew in the future. Sidious hadn't been able to bring it to fruition in just six months, but he'd managed to create quite the weapon using his knowledge from the future—and perhaps some of his own increased powers, too.

That was what concerned the Order most. Just as Anakin could tap into powers he'd never been able to touch before due to his connection to his future self's memories and training, Sidious could do the same. Obi-Wan had shared in Anakin's memories, and vice versa, and had experienced the allure of the dark side and its raw power. Thankfully, Anakin hadn't grasped at the power of the dark side despite his awareness of it.

Sidious had no such reservations. The stronger he was in the future, the stronger he was in the present. And even in their original timeline, Master Yoda could not defeat him.

Obi-Wan mulled for a while longer until the door from the residential area opened and Anakin shuffled into the restaurant. Obi-Wan sucked in a breath at the sight of him.

Thoroughly cleaned and dried, Anakin's hair was shorter and as a result looked lighter, a sandy brownish-blond that abruptly reminded Obi-Wan of when Anakin was a small boy. His hair was just long enough that wisps of curls remained, light and airy. His cheeks were sunken and pale, sickly, but softness touched his features that hadn't been there in years. The hard mask Anakin increasingly wore the older he got, particularly during the war, had crumbled and given way to a childlike innocence that had all but died years ago. The harshness in his eyes had faded, leaving something gentler in its wake.

This was an Anakin Skywalker who would not fall to the dark side.

"They're white, Master," Anakin grumbled as he approached the table. He pulled at the light-colored, baggy tunic Obi-Wan had procured for him. The heavy garments did well at covering Anakin's pronounced bones and lack of weight.

"More like eggshell, and that's all they had," Obi-Wan said as he grabbed the menu to divert his gaze.

It was a lie. They'd had plenty of dark colors, and Obi-Wan actually had to go out of his way to find something in lighter shades. He'd seen Anakin in black enough times to last the rest of his life. Anakin started to slip into the seat across from him.

"Sorry it won't go with your mask," Obi-Wan added.

Anakin halted halfway in the seat and glared in Obi-Wan's general direction. Obi-Wan could not help the grin, but he covered it with the menu. At last, Anakin flopped in the seat and squirmed in place. He took a deep breath and grabbed a menu, skimming it over. His brow bunched up, and he set the menu aside and scratched at his cheek again.

"What are you going to get?" Obi-Wan asked, curious about the reaction. He'd already ordered for him, but it would be good to know if Anakin wasn't feeling well when he ate. It would do no good to force him to eat only to have him get sick later on.

"Nothing." Anakin squirmed, scratched at his cheek, adjusted his clothes, and looked all over except at Obi-Wan.

"You need to eat."

Anakin continued with his fussing and uncomfortable squirming, but he muttered something under his breath.

"I didn't hear you," Obi-Wan prompted.

"I don't have any credits," Anakin said, and a flush of red touched his otherwise pale cheeks. He sank deeper in his seat and scrunched forward, as though he might curl in a ball and roll under the table.

Obi-Wan almost smiled. For all the news reports of Anakin stealing from the galaxy's troublemakers, he hadn't kept any for himself? He'd truly given everything he stole to the people he freed from slavery. Obi-Wan felt immense pride for his former Padawan and also frustration. What had Anakin lived off of for the last six months? Nothing, apparently.

"You could always wash the dishes," Obi-Wan offered in an attempt to cover his conflicting emotions and to keep Anakin from withdrawing.

Anakin pressed his lips into a thin line and frowned at the table. Slowly, his attention drifted towards the door that continually swung open and closed and led to the kitchen. His shoulders sank.

"Oh, Anakin. Really?" Obi-Wan let out a puff of air as he leaned back in his seat. "I already purchased your meal. What sort of Master do you think I am?"

Anakin squirmed again, and his face went down, but Obi-Wan caught another flash of red on his cheeks. Caught the smile that teased Anakin's lips.

"The kind who would make me wash the dishes."

Anakin lifted his face and the smile grew. Nothing grand or dramatic. Subtle, but noticeable. So young and childlike.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to argue but could say nothing to counter the claim. He waved his hand in the air and then dropped it on the table, surrendering. Anakin chuckled and dipped his head again. Obi-Wan's heart warmed with affection.

For the past six months, he had worried for Anakin. Not that he would become Darth Vader, but that he would lose himself to consuming sorrow. That he would fracture and break in a way that could not be healed. For the past six months, Obi-Wan had thrown out a lifetime of Jedi instruction and feared he would receive word that Anakin had perished, either by Sidious' hands or by some self-sacrificial means.

But he hadn't. Obi-Wan had Anakin back, and he intended to keep it that way.


	8. Glimpses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone for all of your continued support! At the end of the day, I really just hope it's an enjoyable read for some, all the way to the end.

Anakin shuffled through the streets of Corellia after Obi-Wan, dodging people and keeping his face down. He hadn't been in such populated parts in a long while, and his heart raced even though he reminded himself, constantly, that he would be safe with Obi-Wan.

Another part of him, though, reminded him constantly that Obi-Wan was not safe with him. In this lifetime, he had caused Obi-Wan constant stress and disappointments. In another lifetime, he caused him immeasurable sorrow and death. Merely being with him put Obi-Wan in danger, either of the harm Anakin would inevitably cause him or by making him a target of Sidious.

Anakin knew that, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. Exhaustion weighed on him and killed his motivation. Even though he knew what he ought to do, he couldn't bring himself to care enough to do it. He'd leave—eventually. In the meantime, he'd do his best to be a tolerable human being and try not to burden Obi-Wan.

Besides, he didn't have a ship. He needed to at least get off Corellia and to lesser-known regions of the galaxy so he might procure a vessel in lesser-reputable locations and ways.

Obi-Wan led him to the local port, an area buzzing with chatter, whirring machines, and roaring engines. Anakin breathed deep of the smells of oils and fuels, so familiar yet forgotten since he'd vanished from civilized society. There was something invigorating about the air wafting with mechanical scents, something that tickled his senses and kicked his mind into overdrive. The exhaustion loosed its grip on him.

A familiar barrage of droidspeak drew his attention ahead of Obi-Wan. A flash of white, silver, and blue further lifted Anakin's spirits.

"Artoo!"

Anakin pushed past Obi-Wan to run and meet his favorite astromech droid on the platform. It had probably been for the best, because R2 careened towards them and seemed to have his direct course locked on Obi-Wan and ready for impact. R2 stopped when Anakin reached him, and Anakin crouched and set a hand on the cool metal of the droid.

"It's good to see you, buddy."

R2 whistled and beeped at him enthusiastically and nudged closer. Anakin patted the droid's dome top and smiled despite himself. Despite everything.

"I see how it is," Obi-Wan muttered as he approached. "I fly halfway across the galaxy to find you and you grumble and ask for your mask. But if this little nuisance of a droid comes along, you run and celebrate like a little boy."

"Are you jealous, Master?" Anakin asked. He couldn't help himself. "That's hardly becoming of a Jedi."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, harrumphed, and folded his arms into the sleeves of his cloak.

"What are you doing here, Artoo?" Anakin asked.

"That is a wonderful question." Obi-Wan glared at the droid. "I had no intention of taking it with me. Consider my surprise when, halfway from Coruscant, the little nuisance popped out of a storage locker and started beeping up a storm." His voice rose. "I tried to deactivate its power source, but the womp rat spit oil at me and sped away into hiding."

Obi-Wan's eyes darkened on R2. R2 beeped innocently and swiveled its head around as if to say, 'Not me! I would never!' Obi-Wan wasn't quite finished with lamenting.

"About half an hour later, Artoo starts screaming over the intercoms and near drove me mad the entire way here."

Anakin laughed. He couldn't help it.

"I'm glad you find it amusing," Obi-Wan said without sounding glad at all. He stalked off down the landing pad through the crowd. Very grumpily, he added, "Get on the ship."

Anakin followed, with R2 on his heels, until the crowds seemed to part ahead of them. He stopped even as Obi-Wan continued to the painfully familiar vessel. Padmé's sleek and silver ship, a Naboo star skiff, waited at the edge of the platform. She'd flown it to meet with him on Mustafar in another life.

His feet dragged him to the ship without his conscious thought, and he eventually boarded and trailed behind Obi-Wan into one of the sleep quarters. He expected his mask, but instead Obi-Wan set out a stack of blankets and a pillow before straightening and folding his arms at his chest.

R2 trundled up behind Anakin and bumped into the backs of his legs. Barring him from leaving, Anakin realized belatedly.

"Where will we go?" Anakin asked, eyeing the sleep pallet and resisting a frown.

"I'll reach out to the Order and see if they have any leads on the Death Star. In the meantime, you should rest." Obi-Wan used the stern tone he often employed when Anakin was younger. It still slipped out sometimes, though Anakin questioned if Obi-Wan realized he used the tone or not.

"I just woke up," Anakin reminded him.

"From a not-very-restful sleep, I assure you. A little more rest will do you well." Obi-Wan scrutinized Anakin and scratched at his beard. "And another hearty meal after that before you wither away into nothingness."

Anakin frowned down at himself and then directed his grumpy expression at the bedding. He was tired, exhausted, even, but he wanted to keep moving. People suffered all across the galaxy, and even though he couldn't save them all, if he kept moving, he could save some. Besides, Sidious was still out there somewhere, and the Death Star lurked at the recesses of Anakin's mind, reminding him Alderaan's destruction was looming.

"I will do what I can to locate the Death Star," Obi-Wan said, as if sensing Anakin's thoughts. "But for right now, there is nothing more you can do. Better to rest your body and replenish your strength while you can. What do you even intend to do if you cross paths with Sidious? Weak as you are now, do you think you can stand against him?"

Anakin slumped. Sidious had easily overpowered him. But Anakin couldn't bring himself to care enough to eat when the Force could carry him along well enough without. Sleep eluded him regardless of what he did, so why bother? It wasn't like he was intentionally trying to give himself nightmares. Or visions. Whatever.

If the Force wanted him to take a nap, it ought to leave him alone.

"Rest, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, gently. "A little sleep here and there, fitful though it may be, will still be better than nothing. Please."

A genuine plea. Anakin had become such a burden that Obi-Wan had to beg him to oblige. He sighed and scrubbed at his aching forehead. He could try to sleep, though he doubted he would. The Force would deign to give him more visions of Alderaan blowing up and Leia dying.

He could tolerate the visions of Darth Vader because it was evidence of his true self, and he did not deserve to forget the lives he'd destroyed. No, every face, every city, every planet he burned into his memory and allowed it to haunt him so that he would never forget his victims. But the new visions? Anakin didn't want them anymore. He didn't want to see more people dying. Not when he knew that his selfish decisions caused the visions to become reality. Nothing he did would change anything. It was almost like the Force enjoyed tormenting him.

Nevertheless, Obi-Wan shouldn't have to suffer or worry for him anymore. He offered Obi-Wan a nod.

"Good," his former Master said. He gave Anakin another once over and turned to leave the quarters.

Anakin stared at Obi-Wan's back. He didn't want to be there anymore. He didn't want to be where he could hurt Obi-Wan anymore. His chest ached in a way it hadn't for nearly six months. He'd run away because of this, because people tried to be close when they shouldn't. Cared when they shouldn't. He didn't deserve any of it.

"Where's my mask?" he asked.

The words slipped out without him really thinking. He regretted them the moment they left his lips. Obi-Wan froze in the doorway. As if Anakin had stabbed him through, same as he had in the future. Cut him to the core and destroyed him. Anakin had that effect on others. He really ought to leave.

Obi-Wan turned, sorrow on his face rather than anger. Anakin would have preferred anger.

"It's on the ship. I promise," Obi-Wan said. Emotion tinged his words. "But at least allow me to see your face a little while longer."

Warmth burned across Anakin's cheeks and bubbled in his chest. He dropped his gaze to the floor between his soft boots, not sure that he could bear to look anywhere remotely near his former Master. Obi-Wan rarely showed his emotions—maybe to others, but certainly not to Anakin. Anakin didn't know what to do with it.

So he nodded.

Obi-Wan departed, quietly shuffling into the corridor. Anakin stared at the door as it slid shut and left him inside with only R2 to keep him company.

Aimless and feeling the need to move, Anakin rummaged through the storage compartments beneath and beside the sleep pallet. He hoped to find a spare set of darker clothes and his mask but found nothing. The ship's engines roared to life, and Anakin felt the familiar motion of lifting off the ground.

Heaving a sigh, he shuffled to the cot and removed his outer clothes and accessories. He folded everything neatly and set it aside lest Obi-Wan scold him. He flopped on the side of the pallet and dropped his head into his hands. He was tired, but he dreaded sleep. He dreaded the horrors. They were his and he deserved to see them, but it still hurt. It always hurt.

R2 released an innocent whistle and whirred to life. A bit of static fizzled out of the droid.

" _Yes! Yes, of course!_ " Padmé's voice arose from R2, and Anakin's head flew up. A projection of her appeared over R2. She looked off to the side, not at Anakin. A recording.

" _I'll send someone ahead. You can have the best ship in my possession. I'll send supplies—whatever you need._ " She spoke with urgency.

" _A ship will suffice, thank you._ " Obi-Wan's voice arose from the recording.

R2's visual projection expanded and captured Obi-Wan standing at a slight distance, his hands folded loosely in front of him. He smiled, but his shoulders sagged in a way he would rarely allow.

" _Credits, then? My resources are yours. Just…_ " Padmé's voice broke, and she covered her lips with a hand while she composed herself. She clasped her hands tightly in front of her and wrung at the fabric of her long gown. Her eyes shone with wetness. " _Please find him, Obi-Wan. Please… please keep him safe._ "

" _I will do everything I can. I swear it._ " Obi-Wan dipped his head. " _I have a few things to tend to before I depart. I should be going or I may miss him._ "

" _You'll keep me informed?_ "

" _Of course._ " Obi-Wan departed from the projection.

Padmé stared at the empty space where he had been, expression blank, tears filling her eyes. She covered her face with one hand and wept.

" _Mistress Padmé, are you all right?_ " asked 3PO from somewhere off the recording. " _Oh dear. Is there anything I might do?_ "

" _No, it's all right, Threepio. Thank you._ "

Padmé inhaled deeply, straightened her gown, and brushed her long, loose curls over her shoulder. R2 continued recording her as she strolled across the room and sat on the floor, gathering up two little bundles in her arms. Two beautiful babies. One fussed and thrashed their arms. Leia. Anakin could already tell. Luke muttered cheerfully until Leia threw out an arm and clipped him in the head. He looked more surprised than upset. They'd grown so much. They might be crawling at that age. Close to walking.

Leia looked about the same age as she did in Anakin's visions. He felt a horrific mixture of sheer joy at seeing them and sheer terror. Pleasure and fear. His beautiful little girl was going to die.

Tears spilled down his cheeks before he even realized they'd reached his eyes.

In the recording, Padmé snuggled the twins and then returned them to the ground. Immediately, both started scooting around, wriggling away from her like little worms. Leia hoisted herself up and crawled—she crawled!—and piled herself on top of Luke without mercy, using him as a pillow.

Anakin laughed through his tears. She was the bully! Luke sprawled and took it, unconcerned, and gnawed on his hand. Padmé didn't seem bothered by their actions. Instead, her eyes locked on R2, and her eyebrows rose.

" _Artoo…_ " Padmé rose and ran to R2, dropping to her knees in front of him. She reached for him, but her hands disappeared from the projection. She was so close to the recording lens that it felt as though she stood face to face with Anakin. " _You have to go with him. If Obi-Wan can't convince him, maybe you…_ " Her voice broke. " _Won't you try? Please keep him safe. Please bring him back to me._ "

The image paused with her face drawn close, eyes filled with tears but also hope. Her perfect, beautiful face. Anakin stared at it until the projection flickered and vanished. He'd caused her so much pain and sorrow. So many tears. The wounds cut deeper than anything he'd felt before. Anger at himself, maybe, but mostly only dreadful sorrow. He wished he could be better for her and for them. He wished he was someone else, so that he might have a chance to be a husband and father.

But the past and the future could not be changed. Anakin may have caused her tears, but at least she lived. It was proof enough that her life was better without him.

Everyone's life would be better without him. Anakin had to find a way to leave Obi-Wan. He would safely leave Corellia with him, hopefully find a means to his own ship, and leave on his own. He would not hurt him anymore.

Anakin lay on his side on the cot, suddenly weak and chilled. Too exhausted to bother unraveling a blanket or grabbing the pillow, he instead folded his arm under his head and curled in on himself for warmth.

R2 rolled to the side of the cot and prattled at him. Anakin extended a hand and placed it on the droid's head. He felt the gentle whir of mechanics alive in R2 and felt the subtle warmth of the intricate parts in R2 hard at work.

"Sorry, Artoo," Anakin said, and his voice barely broke through his lips. Emotion and exhaustion had done a number on him. "I can't go back."

R2 beeped at him again, this time a little deeper. Anakin managed a small smile. He'd made the droid mad.

"I won't do what I did. I won't risk it. I'm dangerous."

Anakin patted R2 before settling his hand on the droid's head. The slight movement and warmth, along with the engine's dull roar, lulled him towards sleep. He allowed his eyelids to flutter, but as always, with sleep came visions and nightmares. They closed in around him and swept away all traces of warmth and familiarity.

Instead he saw Darth Vader. The enslavement and death of hundreds upon thousands. The betrayal of those he loved, because he had been dangerous all along, a failure that couldn't be helped. Other visions of things yet to pass overwhelmed his mind. Bail and Leia died in an explosion. Bail ran towards him under a sheet of red. Alderaan blew apart.


	9. If Looks Could Kill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading, all!! And thanks, always, for your continued support~

Obi-Wan took to space but left the star skiff cruising to the northwest, expecting that's where they ought to go, but sent out a few messages and waited for further guidance. He'd speak with Master Windu shortly. In the meantime, he ensured autopilot functioned appropriately, set all sensors on high alert, and exited the cockpit.

He pulled Anakin's atrocious mask out of a storage locker and reluctantly brought it to the sleep quarters where he'd left his young friend. When the door slipped open, he halted.

Anakin slept with one hand atop R2.

"Artoo is not a pet, Anakin," Obi-Wan said despite Anakin being asleep.

R2 swiveled its head and hissed at him. The droid hissed _._

"Quiet," Obi-Wan said in reprimand with a finger to his lips.

R2 muted but kept its head and optical eye locked on Obi-Wan. If it had been any sort of living, sentient being, Obi-Wan would have felt judged. But he didn't because R2 was a droid and that would be silly.

Obi-Wan approached the cot and sighed at the sight. Anakin had curled into a tight ball against the cold, but he shivered anyway. Of course, he couldn't have been bothered to use the pillow or blankets Obi-Wan had set aside for him. Anakin seemed to be sleeping soundly, not fitfully in nightmares.

Setting the mask on a nearby shelf, Obi-Wan grabbed a blanket and spread it over his former Padawan. He wiggled the pillow under Anakin's head. Anakin murmured and pulled the blanket to his chin. The shivers stopped, and he was dead to the world, fast asleep.

A hint of red flushed Anakin's cheeks. Obi-Wan rested his palm on Anakin's forehead and grimaced at the intense heat that burned his skin. When Obi-Wan pulled away, Anakin wriggled deeper into the blanket. He kept one hand on R2 despite all his squirming.

A faint smile touched Obi-Wan's lips, but it rapidly disintegrated. During the war, amidst the violence and the chaos, through brilliant tactical operations and jaw-dropping, death-defying situations, he'd forgotten Anakin was so young.

Looking at him now, nestled in his blanket, hair lighter and wispier, face softer, Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel 25 again and charged with guiding the former slave, the child prodigy, the most powerful Force-sensitive being in the galaxy, the _Chosen One,_ into adulthood.

Again, he found himself uncertain if he was up to the task.

Obi-Wan didn't think Anakin would fall to the dark side, but he did think Anakin was fully capable of destroying himself, of recklessly throwing himself into a situation that caused him irreparable harm, all in the name of trying to right the wrongs he hadn't committed in that lifetime. Obi-Wan didn't know how to save him from that.

Maybe he couldn't. Maybe no one could. Perhaps the Force truly did deem it inevitable that Anakin would suffer and die. If that was the case, Obi-Wan would suffer with him. How could he not? Anakin was as much a part of him as he himself. The bond severed between them did nothing to keep those feelings at bay. If Anakin hurt, Obi-Wan hurt. He always would.

Tired, Obi-Wan dropped onto the side of the sleep pallet opposite Anakin's and ran both hands down his face.

"I wish I knew what to say to you, Anakin," he muttered. "I wish I knew what you needed to hear."

Despite their closeness, a gap always remained between them. Through the sharing of their memories and visions of the future, Obi-Wan had become fully aware of Anakin's difficulty in understanding his reserved invitations for conversation. He became fully aware that Anakin wasn't always able to pick up on his muted words of affirmation and gestures of affection. Those that did get across were undermined by Sidious.

Sidious had done a most excellent job isolating Anakin to the point that Anakin couldn't even trust himself—he trusted Sidious alone.

And the Jedi had given Anakin to Sidious. Obi-Wan had given Anakin to Sidious.

"Anakin, I am so sorry," he said into his hands as he covered his face. "I wish I had known. What I wouldn't give to have known."

The past could not be changed. He should not dwell on it. He couldn't, if they were to move forward. But Anakin had been wronged, and from such a young age. Damage had been done and the scars ran deep.

"Help me understand how I can help you," Obi-Wan said. He sighed and rose, and he folded his arms around himself. His gaze remained fixed on Anakin sleeping soundly, fingers twitching lightly on top of R2. "I cannot carry this burden for you, though I wish I could. But I will gladly carry it with you, if only you would let me."

Obi-Wan wondered how to say such things to Anakin—when Anakin was conscious. Obi-Wan was a reserved man. It was partly what made him and Anakin such a good team. They were complimentary halves, Anakin brash and honest, Obi-Wan calculated and reserved. Obi-Wan could always decipher Anakin's declarations of affection because they were loud, but Anakin couldn't read Obi-Wan quite so well.

Nevertheless, Obi-Wan resolved to try to find a way to communicate in such a way Anakin might better understand. Even if he had to be a little louder about it. His young friend deserved that much.

Obi-Wan's comlink chirped. He was due for his communication with the Temple. He tapped the comlink to silence it and transfer the communication to the bridge where he'd have a little privacy. Not that he meant to keep secrets, only he hoped Anakin would sleep longer. If his fever was any indication, he needed rest.

Obi-Wan returned to the bridge, plopped into the pilot's seat, and pulled up the transferred link to the Temple. Master Windu's projection appeared before him.

 _"Good to see you well, Obi-Wan,"_ said Master Windu with a reserved nod.

"You as well, Mace."

_"I take it your mission was a success. How is the… assignment?"_

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. They'd decided to keep Anakin's whereabouts as much a secret as possible to keep from endangering him further, from both Republic and Separatist forces, but Obi-Wan felt a bit cold calling him an assignment.

"It went smoothly. All is well."

_"Is the situation safe?"_

Obi-Wan processed the question and all its unspoken nuances. Was Anakin safe? Was he a danger to others? Would he fall to Sidious?

"There is no danger to others, of that I'm certain," Obi-Wan replied. He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms into his sleeves at his chest.

 _"Good to hear."_ A ripple of warmth touched Master Windu's tone. _"We leave matters in your capable hands. Do what you feel is necessary."_

In saying so, Obi-Wan received continued support from the Order to look after Anakin as he saw fit. Unofficially, of course. The Republic still saw Anakin as a potential threat. Many Jedi did as well. They played such a tedious game, and Obi-Wan didn't particularly like the politics.

"Thank you. How are things on your end?"

 _"No better than before. Separatist forces continue attacking all across the galaxy. We're extended thin, and matters show no sign of improving. Sidious seems to be up to something, but we aren't yet able to sort out what it is. In the meantime, we're merely trying to keep planets safe."_ Master Windu sighed and rubbed his brow before resuming his rigid posture with hands folded behind his back. _"I'm sending you a list of coordinates of the last-known sightings of the Death Star. Perhaps you and your… partner can make sense of it and look into matters. We're stretched thin enough as it is."_

"That would be an ideal task," Obi-Wan said, recalling Anakin's desire to stop the Death Star. "We'll look into matters. I'll report back if we learn anything."

 _"Good. I'm also sending you a list of contacts who reported the sightings. You should visit with them first. Most are Force-sensitive beings who witnessed the vision along with us and who aren't particularly happy with how things turn out in the future."_ Master Windu's brow furrowed. _"It may be best for your partner to travel more discreetly."_

Obi-Wan ran his hand over his face. Yes, the mask would be problem enough with how famous Anakin had become in the past six months. Force-sensitive beings who had seen the future and would recognize Darth Vader as their enemy might only make matters worse. But typical Anakin, he would rather hide behind a mask that portrayed power than reveal his true self. He'd done so since he was a small boy.

"Yes," was all he could say. He wouldn't win that argument with Anakin. "Thank you."

_"I leave you to your task, then. May the Force be with you, Obi-Wan."_

"May the Force be with you, Master." Obi-Wan inclined his head in respect.

Master Windu returned the gesture and flickered out of existence.

Obi-Wan checked the chrono—he'd schedule his next transmission to be within this timeframe, so he switched to his personal comlink and set it on the control panel. The transmission fizzled for a while, receiving no answer, and then 3PO's form took shape in the projection.

 _"Why, hello Master Obi-Wan. Good day,"_ said the protocol droid, respectful as always.

"Hello, Threepio. Is Padmé available? She was expecting my communication."

 _"Oh, yes. Please allow me to retrieve her."_ The droid turned aside and raised its voice. _"Mistress Padmé! Mistress! Master Obi-Wan is calling for you. Mistress—"_

Something crashed off the projection, and 3PO jerked with a start. Obi-Wan leaned forward in his seat and frowned.

 _"Please wait!"_ Padmé shouted, out of sight. _"I'll be right back. It's Obi-Wan_." She appeared in the projection, her eyes wide and hair slightly frazzled. Not quite her usual, put-together self. Given the circumstances, that didn't surprise Obi-Wan. As 3PO hobbled out of view, Padmé lunged at the projection with vicious urgency. _"Obi-Wan! Is he—Is Anakin—"_

"I have him. He's safe," Obi-Wan said with a mild smile, and he leaned back. After everything, she loved Anakin dearly. She believed in him. If only Anakin would let her in and accept her boundless affection. "A little tired and shaken up, but he'll be all right."

Padmé unleashed such a sigh of relief that her entire body sank. Her face lightened and her hand went flat to her chest.

 _"Thank you_." She bowed her head in gratitude. _"Thank you so much. Is he—Will he return? Are you able to convince him to come home?"_

Obi-Wan's smile faltered.

"I'm afraid he's not at that place yet, Padmé." When her expression darkened and her eyes misted, he added, "But I will stay with him. I will do my best to keep him out of mischief. I promise."

Padmé nodded. She probably had hoped for better but must have anticipated as much.

_"Thank you. Can you at least tell me where you're going? Is it anywhere dangerous?"_

"We're pursuing the Death Star," he said. As part of the Senate, she would already be fully aware that the Jedi were tracking it. Secrecy wasn't a necessity with her.

Before he could add more, a hum of surprise arose from off the projection and distracted Padmé. Senator Bail Organa appeared in the projection with Leia in one arm. Leia wore a little bow on her head and a grumpy look on her face. She scowled at Bail, then at Obi-Wan, then at Bail again. She really only liked her mother.

 _"Obi-Wan,"_ Bail said with a pleasant ring to his voice _. "It's good to see you well."_

"Bail." Obi-Wan tipped his head in respect. He and Bail had been through enough trouble together to skip the formal pleasantries.

 _"They're sending you off to the northwestern quadrant? To the Unknown Regions?"_ Bail asked.

"Yes, though I'm not sure what we're expecting to find. Somehow I get the feeling the Death Star will find a way to slip between our fingers."

 _"Let's hope not, but at the same time, I wish you well and hope you'll stay safe."_ Bail nodded and glanced between Obi-Wan and Padmé. _"I really should be going. Breha will be frustrated with me if I dawdle too long with her new little friend."_ As he said so, he bounced Leia.

If looks could kill, Bail would be dead. Leia scowled at him with an intensity unfit for a tiny human being. What a face.

 _"I'm sorry for the delay. Please go. I'll send everything along after you."_ Padmé leaned in and kissed Leia as Bail and Leia slipped from the projection.

 _"Be safe, Obi-Wan."_ Bail called out as he disappeared.

When Padmé reappeared and returned her full attention to Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan frowned.

"Is something happening?"

 _"I'm sending Leia to visit Alderaan with Bail,"_ Padmé said with a smile. She fidgeted at her rumpled gown. Also quite childlike. Obi-Wan felt old. _"Leia becomes such a powerful woman in the future, all thanks to Bail and Breha. I want to give her those same opportunities—I want her to know them as well as she knows me and… and Anakin."_ Her head dropped and the smile vanished, swept away by her sorrow and doubt. Nevertheless, she lifted her head and met Obi-Wan's gaze. _"The same will be true for Luke and Owen and Beru."_

Padmé was such an incredible woman and mother. She would be good for Luke and Leia. Anakin would be, too, if only he would give himself the chance.

"Do you think that wise with Sidious on the loose?" Obi-Wan asked with a slight frown. "About Leia leaving Coruscant, I mean."

 _"Bail has a larger security force than I do,"_ Padmé said with a chuckle. _"Besides, some of the 501st have agreed to go as well."_ The watery shine returned to her eyes. _"Anakin has many people loyal to him and to his loved ones. I wish he realized that."_

Obi-Wan wished that, too.

 _"I should go,"_ Padmé said. _"Bail will be waiting, and I want to say goodbye to Leia again. It's difficult letting her go."_ She laughed again, this time a little forced, and wiped some tears from her eyes. _"Obi-Wan, please… About Anakin…"_

A beat.

 _"Please,"_ she said.

Please watch over Anakin. Please protect him. Please don't let him hurt himself. Please don't let him lose himself. Please bring him home. All those things were wrapped in that single word so riddled with emotion.

"I will look after him, Padmé, you have my word."

 _"Thank you,"_ she said. _"Please be safe, Obi-Wan."_

"Take care."

The transmission ended. Obi-Wan tucked the personal comlink back into his pouch and leaned back in his seat.

He scrubbed his hands over his face to stave off his minor exhaustion. He retrieved his datapad and plugged in the coordinates to the nearest planet Master Windu wanted them to investigate. It would take a while to reach their destination, ample time for Anakin to rest and for Obi-Wan to get his mental faculties in order.

To his utter dismay, shuffling feet and rustling fabric drew his attention to the doorway. Anakin tottered in, R2 on his heels like a loyal pet, and plopped down in the seat beside Obi-Wan. Half his hair lay flat on his head and his eyelids sagged from exhaustion. He stifled a yawn, but it broke loose anyway and he covered his face with his hands in a poor attempt at hiding it.

"You should be resting." Obi-Wan took a stern tone.

Red brushed Anakin's cheeks while the rest of his face remained pallid. At least he didn't wear the mask.

"I'm not tired." Anakin yawned again.

It was like talking to a child. Obi-Wan gave up the argument. For now.

"Where are we going?" Anakin asked as he eyed the navigation panel. He leaned forward as if to fiddle with the coordinates, so Obi-Wan handed him the datapad with the information the Council had sent.

"What do you make of this?"

Anakin took the datapad and leaned back in his chair. He shivered and nestled down, burrowing like a little animal. Obi-Wan would have to supply him with a cloak later. Anakin hated the cold too much to endure without one. His eyes skimmed the information on the screen, top to bottom, several times. Obi-Wan could see the gears turning behind his eyes as he processed the data.

"What is this?" Anakin asked, his eyebrows pinched together.

"The last confirmed sightings of the Death Star."

"Are these times correct?"

"As far as we know."

Each of the coordinates came with a timestamp for when the sightings had supposedly occurred. Obi-Wan hadn't asked whether they were accurate or not. Regardless, they had been fairly recent.

Anakin stared at the datapad, the coordinates Obi-Wan had programmed into the skiff, and the datapad again. His frown deepened.

"You're going to the closest planet? Why?"

"Should I not?" Obi-Wan asked, and he matched Anakin's frown with his own. "We also have a list of contacts on planet to speak with about the sightings. I assumed that planet would be as good as any."

"Yes, well…" Anakin let out a puff of air and sprawled dramatically in the seat as he stared again at the screen.

"Well?" Obi-Wan waved his hand in the air to encourage Anakin to continue. When Anakin said nothing, he added, "Anakin, if you have an idea, I would like to hear it."

Anakin scratched at his cheek before flopping further into the seat. If he went any limper, he would slide right to the floor.

"There's a pattern," Anakin said. He thrust the datapad at Obi-Wan but looked the other direction. Obi-Wan took the pad and reviewed the information as Anakin explained. "The sightings happen at specific intervals. They move back and forth seemingly at random because they throw an intermittent stop along the continuum, but even those are calculated. The actual pattern is an additional two days between sightings on either side of a central point, with a random stop halfway between the central point and the next destination."

Obi-Wan stared at the screen and ran the calculations in his head. He hadn't inspected the data that closely, simply set off with the instructions he should speak with the witnesses, but Anakin was absolutely right. The sightings seemed to swing back and forth from a central point, always going a bit further each time.

"What do you propose we do with this information?" Obi-Wan asked, though he already had a pretty good idea of what Anakin had in mind.

"Instead of following it, let's get ahead of it." Anakin sank into the chair. In fact, he started to slide out of it and had to wiggle his way up again. He tucked his arms into his sleeves and shuddered from cold. The fever probably wasn't helping. "Let's go to the next planet within its path. There can't be that many out there at that specific location."

Obi-Wan used Anakin's pattern to generate the estimated coordinates of the Death Star's next sighting. He pulled those coordinates up on a map of the region and found one planet in the vicinity. No information on the planet existed in their database.

"Very well, we have our destination." Obi-Wan adjusted their coordinates and leaned back in his seat. "It will take us a little longer, but it should be worth it if we find the Death Star."

"We'll find a trap," Anakin muttered. His eyelids fluttered.

"Those haven't worked well in our favor lately, have they?" Obi-Wan tossed the datapad onto the console. He eyed Anakin but tried to be discreet about it. Down and down his former Padawan sank. "You should go lie down."

"I'm fine—"

"Your fever says otherwise."

"Is this what this entire trip is going to be? You chiding me like a child?" Anakin sat up, and a distinct note of hostility dripped from his words. "You know, I've been fine without you for the past six months—"

Obi-Wan released an exasperated snort.

"Forgive me if your severely malnourished body makes me question your ability to adult effectively."

Anakin sat straight as a board and glared with a fiery intensity Obi-Wan had not experienced in months—years? It had been a long while. Now that he thought of it, it was the same face Leia gave Bail. Uncanny.

Anakin huffed and flopped back into his seat. Honestly, Obi-Wan had expected him to storm out. But no, Anakin slithered down in the chair, arms crossed, and stewed in his anger while glaring down hyperspace.

"Anakin, I'm worried about you," Obi-Wan said, and he softened his voice to better express the meaning behind his words.

It worked. Anakin melted into the chair, and the familiar hard lines on his face faded to the childish, innocent softness he'd acquired, or reacquired, over the past six months.

"Don't," he said. "Don't worry about me." Defeat crippled his tone. Obi-Wan heard the undercurrent of his unspoken words: don't bother, I'm not worth it.

Obi-Wan watched the tunnel of light stretch on ahead of them into a singular point. Watched the swirl of varying shades of blue whiz past. He tried to formulate an appropriate response, but as always, his emotions didn't work well with his words. His logical mind told him to rationalize with Anakin from a practical standpoint. To remind him of his duty, his importance as the Chosen One, and even his responsibility as a husband and father.

Obi-Wan understood that was not what Anakin needed now. Though such words might motivate Obi-Wan, they would destroy Anakin. Anakin believed he was a pawn in a game, a slave, a tool to be moved and manipulated. He needed to know otherwise. Obi-Wan opened and closed his mouth several times, not certain how to get what he felt in his heart into proper words.

"Anakin," he started, ready to stammer through it and hope the words came out properly once he got going. Quiet, rhythmic breathing silenced him.

Anakin sprawled at an odd angle in his seat, legs stretched out, arms tucked in, head resting on the arm of the chair. He'd fallen asleep. Obi-Wan let out a breath where he had intended to unleash words.

It seemed their talk would have to wait.


	10. Deities of the Silver Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, commenting, bookmarking, and doing whatever else you do to support this story. I appreciate you!! Please continue to enjoy~~

Obi-Wan ran scans of their surroundings as they neared where the Death Star would supposedly appear. They hadn't yet picked up any trace of a planet or a massive, floating weapon. He didn't want to voice the words aloud, but Obi-Wan couldn't ignore the churning in his stomach. He had a bad feeling about this.

The door to the bridge slid open, and R2 beeped a greeting as Anakin strolled in. He tossed what appeared to be a durasteel pipe from hand to hand. The pipe was longer than a lightsaber, nearly Anakin's height.

Obi-Wan's unease increased.

"What are you doing? What is that?"

"It's my new weapon," Anakin said, pausing behind the seat next to Obi-Wan. He wagged the pipe in the air and gave it a thorough once-over before propping it in the joint between the seat arm and the back of the seat.

"Is that a durasteel pipe?"

"It's a bo staff," Anakin said, pointedly. His face dropped into a scowl.

"Where did you get that?"

"I borrowed it from one of the cabins." Offhandedly, he added, "The lights are out in your cabin for some reason. Be careful."

Obi-Wan frowned. Anakin looked everywhere but at him.

"You cut a pipe out of the ship?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin plopped into his seat and gave an innocent little shrug. He stared ahead into the vast emptiness of space. Obi-Wan gave up the challenge. So long as the ship didn't lose power, he supposed it didn't hurt, but certainly Anakin could do with a better weapon than that.

Obi-Wan regretted not requesting Anakin's lightsaber from Padmé, whom he had left the weapon with for safekeeping. He'd chased so many false leads that he hadn't truly thought he'd find Anakin and need it.

Anakin's non-lethal weapon made sense, though. Since Anakin had donned the mask and traversed the galaxy, he hadn't killed anyone. A pipe, or a bo staff as Anakin wanted to call it, would cause injury but not death. Would protect but not easily destroy. Yes, Obi-Wan would let this fight go.

One of the ship's sensors beeped, and Obi-Wan and Anakin sat straight. Obi-Wan tapped at the controls and drew up a small projection of something in the distance. A planet. Several smaller things eventually appeared on the sensor as the planet materialized out of the wall of black ahead of them. The sensor emitted an endless stream of beeps as dozens upon dozens of things appeared. Obi-Wan turned it off merely because the noise became too distracting.

Ahead of them, a planet came into view, its surface a twirling mess of purples, greens, and oranges. Two unfamiliar Star Destroyers and an entire fleet of smaller ships also appeared out of the darkness.

"Separatists," Obi-Wan muttered, and he drew a hand to his lips as he leaned forward. "What do you suppose they're doing out here?"

"I'd say it's a trap," Anakin said, "but they don't look like they're trying very hard to trap us." He leaned forward, set an elbow on his knee, and settled his chin in his upturned hand.

Obi-Wan had to agree with his assessment. The ships faced the planet, not towards open space. If they had been expecting Republic interference, they made no sign of it.

"Let's go," Anakin said. He flopped back in his seat and shot a glance at Obi-Wan before hastily turning his attention back to the silvery flock of ships. "Unless their sensors are on high alert, we can probably sneak by on the other side of the planet. Get into the atmosphere and off their radar."

"Anakin, we have no support or resources out here. I can communicate with the Temple and let them know what we've found, but if something should happen, they aren't within range to assist."

"The Separatists haven't even noticed us, but our scanners are picking up everything. They're not looking for us. We'll be fine."

"And if we're not?"

"We'll figure it out when the time comes. Trust the Force, Master."

"Oh, you know very well that's not how this works." Obi-Wan scowled at his former Padawan. "Typical Skywalker fashion, move first and ask questions later."

Anakin ignored him and poked at the computer, drawing up a scan of the planet's atmosphere. Plenty of oxygen on the planet—breathable, if not a bit odd. Plumes of gas erupted, flooded the atmosphere, and then withered.

"Weird eruptions. I've got my mask, but you should bring your rebreather," Anakin said. He rose and waved Obi-Wan out of the pilot's seat. "Here, I'll fly."

Obi-Wan gave Anakin another stern look, but Anakin stared at a button on the console in front of him and tapped at the metal panel.

"Fine." Obi-Wan slid from his seat and passed Anakin to sit beside him.

Anakin took the pilot's seat and took control of the ship. As he often did when relying on the Force, he shifted into an intense focus, his eyes sharp and acutely aware of the ships ahead of them. He sped the ship left and down, slipping beneath one of the Destroyers before veering to the side and up again. Like sneaking by in their shadows.

Obi-Wan's concerns were unfounded. None of the ships pursued them, which only made Obi-Wan more wary. What could consume their focus so much that a Republic ship could sneak through unhindered?

Once they sank through the swirling purple clouds and broke through to vibrant orange forests of prickly-looking trees and bodies of green water, once they wheeled back around to where the Separatists focused their attention, they found the battlefield. Craters littered the gray soil for kilometers, and flames devoured entire forests.

Fighters swooped out of the clouds and fired on a distant target, and then the air around them exploded in a billowing black cloud. The ominous cloud turned from black to green and vanished, leaving only sparks and embers behind. All traces of the fighters had been obliterated.

Anakin brought their vessel down into a scraggly patch of trees far enough from the fighting but close enough that it wouldn't take them long to traverse the between space. To Obi-Wan's dissatisfaction, Anakin grabbed the mask that he'd propped in the far corner of the control panel, an ominous reminder that things were not normal between them.

"Stay with the ship, Artoo," Anakin told the little droid, who beeped and whistled in affirmative reply.

Even more to Obi-Wan's dissatisfaction, Anakin grabbed the pipe.

"You're really taking that pipe with you?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice betraying his disbelief. He had no doubt Anakin could fight with it in one-on-one combat, but against an army?

"It's a bo staff," Anakin said with a growl. "And yes, I am."

"What could that glorified tent pole do against blaster fire or, Force forbid, a lightsaber?" Obi-Wan trudged after Anakin through the ship. "You'll get yourself killed."

"That's where you come in handy, old man. Don't let me get hit by blaster fire or a lightsaber and we'll be fine."

 _Old man._ Nuisance of a Padawan.

Anakin stopped at a locker and grabbed some ration bars for the trip. Obi-Wan folded his arms over his chest, pulled back his shoulders, and shook his head.

"Do you remember when you were nine years old? I do. You were much cuter then. Only about this tall." Obi-Wan gestured with one hand and patted the air just above his waist. Reminding Anakin that, once upon a time, he was the _little boy_ that a certain _old man_ had to look after. "If you were unruly, I could just pick you up and move you. Put you in a nice corner somewhere."

Anakin bit his lip against a smile. A real, genuine smile. The cheer made it to his eyes despite all attempts to school his face into a frown, and Obi-Wan's chest stirred with familiar feelings of warmth and affection.

"You never put me in a corner."

"Maybe that's part of the problem. Well enough. I'll start now." Obi-Wan pointed towards a random corner of the ship. "Anakin, go to the corner."

Anakin snorted and chewed his lip to restrain himself. It barely worked. The smile on his face: Obi-Wan had missed it. Longed to see it for weeks and then months. Palpatine and trauma had diminished the smile for the past several years, the war almost snuffed it out, and the vision consumed it entirely. But there it was again, Anakin's brilliant warmth and endearing charm.

And again, hope awoke in Obi-Wan that he might have Anakin back for good. Back from the agony and despair. Back from the self-inflicted isolation.

As if he'd realized he'd shown too much life, too much emotion, Anakin busied himself with putting on his helmet and locking all its intricate parts into place. Obi-Wan sighed at the sight of the helmet and dug in another locker, pulling out a scanner they might need on such an unknown planet.

An ache replaced the feelings of affection in Obi-Wan's heart. He found it far too easy to vacillate between hope and despair, joy and sorrow. He needed to meditate and clear his mind, focusing only on what he could do for Anakin here and now.

A sharp needle of pain went through his head at the thought, and he frowned and scrubbed his forehead. He unlocked the doorway and let the ramp lower to the ground. The fresh air would have done him good if it was, in fact, fresh. Instead, a rancid smell hit his nostrils, and another wave of pain stabbed through his temples.

"Are you all right?" Anakin asked, and he reached out as if to grab Obi-Wan's arm—but stopped himself.

Obi-Wan shuddered at the sound of Darth Vader's voice. All traces of Anakin's voice had been consumed by the rough baritone of Vader that haunted Obi-Wan's nightmares.

"Just a headache. Probably from the atmosphere and whatever disturbances those eruptions caused."

A wall of cool humidity struck the moment they stepped outside, to the point Obi-Wan's tunic and pants clung to his skin. Anakin wrapped his arms around his chest and squeezed, and shivers ran through him. Cold humidity often had a worse bite than regular cold, and Anakin already had an aversion to cool climates. Obi-Wan took pity on him and offered his cloak to his former Padawan.

Anakin hesitated until a great shiver ran up his spine and he stumbled from the tremors. He took the cloak and burrowed inside until he was nothing more than Darth Vader's head and a pair of boots. As far as Obi-Wan could tell, Anakin still had a fever. He'd have to be mindful of Anakin's tendency to overexert himself, especially since Anakin clearly had no aversion to physically harming himself.

What a terrible thing to have to worry about. Another twinge of pain struck Obi-Wan's heart, and then another jolt of pain ran through his head.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Anakin asked in Darth Vader's voice.

"Just a headache. No need for excessive concern."

Yet as the words left his lips, Obi-Wan's stomach dropped. He stomped his foot into the mushy soil and stuck out a hand to catch Anakin at the chest. Anakin halted against his extended arm, but his former Padawan was already scanning the jagged trees looming over them. Obi-Wan pulled out his scanner and set it to detect life forms.

Several dozen high-pitched screams distracted him from running the scan. He slammed the scanner into his pouch and grabbed his lightsaber hilt seconds before at least two dozen creatures barreled out of the trees and surrounded them.

The creatures looked something like walking beans, dark brown in color, and they wore leaf-shaped masks. Many of the creatures wielded prickly orange spears with stone points. Several other creatures, however, carried massive shoulder cannons that had to be supported by two beings, one in front and one in back. The weapons aimed at Obi-Wan and Anakin.

By second nature, Obi-Wan and Anakin stood back to back. Anakin readied his pipe, for all the good it would do against a cannon. Granted, Obi-Wan's lightsaber wouldn't be terribly effective, either.

"We aren't here to harm you—" Obi-Wan started to say, but the creatures yelled again.

They spoke indecipherably. Their agitation in the Force was palpable. Several closed in and poked their spears at Obi-Wan and Anakin, who both raised their hands in the universal sign of surrender.

"We aren't your enemies," Anakin said.

Perhaps it was Vader's nefarious tone, but his statement only made the beings more active. They bounced on stick-thin legs and poked at them with their spears. One stepped forward and spoke in an unrecognizable language while it wildly waved its thin arms. Anger and fear radiated from it.

"Did you happen to pack a protocol droid?" Anakin whispered at Obi-Wan.

"Not quite, but—" Obi-Wan started to reach for his comlink, but the nearest spear stabbed just centimeters from his hand and forced him to raise his arms again. "Please, we mean you no harm."

The creatures hissed at them through their masks and closed in on them. Several flung their withered fingers in the direction of the battlefield, and Obi-Wan made the assumption the creatures were a part of the fight and thought Obi-Wan and Anakin were Separatists. Enemies.

"We mean you no harm," Anakin said with a quick sweep of his hand.

"We mean you no harm," Obi-Wan echoed and mirrored Anakin, attempting to use the Force to at least calm the creatures enough to get out his comlink.

A torpedo dropped over the creatures and exploded, initiating more screams. Obi-Wan and Anakin, by sheer instinct, jumped backwards to avoid the blast, and they pushed with the Force to fling the creatures to safety. The explosion smashed the ground and showered them in dirt and embers. Blaster fire rained over them as several starfighters swooped out of the clouds and locked on their locations.

Obi-Wan rolled to his feet and ignited his lightsaber. A steady stream of blaster bolts hissed through the trees in their general direction as droids and tanks closed in on them. Obi-Wan deflected bolts and was about to warn Anakin to be cautious, but his former Padawan had already advanced on the incoming enemies. He ducked and bobbed around blaster fire, leaped into and off the trees, and dove into the oncoming army, pipe swinging. He had to have used the Force in conjunction with his swing, for several droid heads went flying.

Apparently, he could take care of himself with a pipe just fine.

Obi-Wan lunged into the fray and cut down row after row of incoming droids. The trees worked to their benefit and forced their enemies out of cohesive units, separating them and making them easier to pick off. Obi-Wan either sliced in half or shoved backwards with the Force those that made it through.

The tanks caught on the trees and let Anakin mount them. He flung the droids out of a cockpit and commandeered a vessel. He plowed a way through, and Obi-Wan followed after him and demolished whatever droids survived.

The starfighters came around again, and Anakin took aim. Before he did, two of the bean creatures hoisted their shoulder cannon and fired. A massive black ball shot from the device ahead of the starfighters. The starfighters veered, but the ball exploded and expanded like a terrifying and ominous storm, swallowing the ships. The explosion held no fire, only pure black, like gaseous acid that devoured whatever it touched. The black smoke faded to green and then dissolved. Nothing remained of the ships.

Obi-Wan lowered his lightsaber. Anakin joined him.

"Seems you can fight with a pipe after all," Obi-Wan commented.

"Bo staff."

The remaining creatures clamored to their feet and scurried towards Obi-Wan and Anakin, but they dropped their weapons and muttered. Obi-Wan and Anakin prepared for a fight, but the fear and anxiety felt by the creatures had dissipated. The beings flung themselves to the ground at their feet, arms extended, palms flat to the soil. They murmured something akin to a chant, raised their hands with masks still planted to the ground, then dropped their hands again.

"What are they doing?" Anakin lowered his weapon.

"I'm not sure I want to know." Obi-Wan disengaged his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. He pulled out his personal comlink and tried to make a connection.

"That's fancy," Anakin said. It was hard to tell through the mask, but he sounded a little suspicious. "Looks like it'll cover quite the distance…"

"Why, it's almost like I've traveled across the galaxy before," Obi-Wan muttered with one eyebrow raised. "Though you seem to forget, I am quite capable of preparation and planning."

Anakin stared at him. The mask stared at him. It had no emotion, and they shared no bond, so Obi-Wan had no idea what reaction Anakin gave. A frown, perhaps. Possibly an eye roll. Maybe both.

The comlink beeped, and a hazy image of 3PO appeared over the device. Anakin abruptly stepped backwards and took in a sharp breath. He lurked far enough away to be out of sight.

 _"Oh, Master Obi-Wan, what a delight to see you again. Mistress Padmé has been so looking forward to hearing from you. If you would wait just a moment—"_ 3PO shuffled away.

"Wait, Threepio. It's actually you I need," Obi-Wan said. "Would you be able to translate for me?"

The droid shuffled back.

_"Certainly! It would be my pleasure."_

Obi-Wan held the comlink closer to the chanting creatures, but they had started humming and groaning instead of talking. 3PO wouldn't be able to translate anything or even distinguish a language unless they spoke.

"Excuse me," Obi-Wan said to the creatures, but they only groaned louder, threw up their hands, and dropped them again. "If you could just—"

"Talk." Anakin grabbed one of the creatures and hoisted it off the ground.

The creature screeched at the contact. It whipped its head in Anakin's direction and then at Obi-Wan. Its focus was definitely on Obi-Wan. It prattled on at high speeds, and the fear once again was palpable.

 _"Oh my, such a rare language and in a peculiar dialect,"_ 3PO said. _"This particular language was once considered a primary language many, many millennia ago before the core inhabitants supposedly—"_

"Focus, Threepio," Obi-Wan said.

3PO jolted back to attention and spoke the same language in return to the creature. Immediately, the creature wailed, ripped itself out of Anakin's grasp, and threw itself back into the dirt.

"Ask one of them to please speak with me," Obi-Wan said, tiring of the groveling.

3PO translated, and one of the creatures rose but kept its masked head down.

 _"We are not worthy of you, traveler from the beyond,"_ 3PO translated, and Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged glances. At least, as much as could be done with the Vader mask in the way.

"Pardon?"

 _"We have waited many, many stars, and now you have come. You will save us all_ ," said the creature through 3PO. At the creature's words, the many others on the ground started chanting louder.

"Save? From what?" Obi-Wan asked.

 _"From the bright, burning light,"_ said the creature. The others echoed and moaned. _"The great deities have come now from the skies to save us!"_

"Deities!" Anakin's exclamation came off more as a growl through the mask.

"We're not deities. Please correct them," Obi-Wan told 3PO.

_"But you came. You came from the silver star."_

"The ship," Obi-Wan said, but all of the creatures chanted and got louder. His headache intensified at the incessant noise. "No, no, no. We're not—"

The lead creature let out an exasperated shout and ran forward, and all of the other creatures rose, collected their weapons, and followed.

 _"He would like you to follow,"_ 3PO said.

"I gathered," Obi-Wan muttered. He nodded at Anakin, and they obliged. At the very least, they wouldn't be in danger from the creatures anymore.

"They're like potatoes with arms and legs," Anakin said, and Obi-Wan wasn't sure whether to be amused or frightened that the comment came in Darth Vader's voice.

They trekked through the trees, with the creatures shouting and muttering, and their jubilation danced through the Force. Yet Obi-Wan's headache increased, his stomach twisted in a knot, and sweat dripped off his face. It was humid, but the exertion wasn't nearly enough to cause such discomfort.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Anakin asked, quietly. He dodged the still-active comlink to avoid 3PO.

"Something isn't right."

The creatures led them to a ledge overlooking the battlefield. The creatures waged war against an army of droids, firing their vicious cannons to clear out their enemies. The bean creatures stood between the droids and a pyramid temple, and the bean creature with Obi-Wan pointed at the temple. Rather, at several statues that stood as sentinels around the temple. Figures made of black stone, shrouded in cloaks, but wielding something very much like a lightsaber.

Anakin whacked Obi-Wan's arm and pointed at the statues. A nervous laugh bubbled to his lips, equally as awkward in Darth Vader's tone.

"Um, Obi-Wan? They think you're a Sith."


	11. Pipe vs. Lightsaber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, most wonderful readers, for being a part of this journey and for supporting it in whatever ways you do. Your comments are always a pleasure for me to read, too~ I hope you'll continue to enjoy!

"They must be after a holocron," Obi-Wan said. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned forward.

"Then we just have to get it first. It's a good thing you're a Sith, they'll let you walk right into the temple and take it." Anakin moved to descend the hill on which they stood, but Obi-Wan's hand swept out and caught him in the chest.

Obi-Wan glared at the battlefield, and Anakin followed his gaze. At first he saw only the continued cannon fire of the planet's inhabitants against the laser bolts and torpedoes of the Separatists, but then he glimpsed the twisting, twirling flare of red.

Cloaked in black and wielding his two-bladed lightsaber, Maul marched through the Separatist army straight into the waiting arms of the potato creatures. Unfortunately, the world's natives jumped to the same conclusion of Maul as they did Obi-Wan, and they threw themselves into the dirt and paid homage to him. Maul stalked right past and climbed the stairs to the temple.

"Seems they think Maul is a deity, too," Anakin said. He started down the switchback path, sliding on loose gravel. "We'll have to spoil his fun and swipe the holocron."

"I agree," Obi-Wan said. "Threepio, please thank the beings for their services."

_"Of course, Master Obi-Wan."_ 3PO translated the message, and Obi-Wan disconnected the transmission.

Anakin led the way down the ridge and jumped when halfway down, using the Force to cushion his fall. Obi-Wan followed and jumped the same as Anakin but crashed to both knees. He clasped at his head and gritted his teeth, his face twisted in a tight grimace.

"Obi-Wan!"

Anakin ran to his former Master and reached to take his arm and lift him, but Obi-Wan stubbornly rose on wobbling legs. Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose and then massaged his temple, eyes closed.

"The holocron," Anakin said, feeling a fool that he hadn't realized sooner.

Sith holocrons could disrupt the senses of light-side Force users. Not only that, but Obi-Wan had a past history with holocrons that left him equally capable of dealing with them and highly susceptible to their influence.

"You should go back to the ship, Master," Anakin said. "I'll destroy the holocron and then come back—"

"No, no, we go together." Obi-Wan waved his hand in dismissal and strolled past Anakin, but Anakin noticed his limp.

"Master—"

"I will not leave you, Anakin. Now let's hurry before Maul gets away with the holocron." Obi-Wan kept walking.

Anakin remained at the bottom of the hill, his mind telling him to move but his legs refusing to obey. Obi-Wan realized he wasn't being followed and stopped to look back. Anakin was thankful for the mask that covered his voice and facial expressions that so often betrayed him.

"You don't trust me," he said to Obi-Wan. His words probably betrayed him anyway.

"Wh—" Obi-Wan huffed. "Anakin, of course I trust you. I have no fear whatsoever that you will walk in and turn into a Sith Lord, if that's what you think." His voice sharpened and made Anakin feel foolish and small. "But Maul just went in there, and for all we know, Sidious might be waiting inside. I will not leave you to face them alone. We will do this together."

"But…" A lump caught in Anakin's throat, and he tried several times to swallow it. It lingered. "Master, you aren't well. What do you intend to do?"

"I don't know yet. Even if I'm only a distraction, I'll not leave you." Obi-Wan pulled his lightsaber from his belt and approached Anakin with it. "But you're right. You ought to take my lightsaber. If it comes to a fight, and I'm certain it will with Maul, you'll need to be prepared."

Anakin frowned at the weapon being offered to him. It made sense to approach a fight against Maul with a suitable weapon. If it came to it, Maul was one being he could kill for the good of the Republic. No, the good of the galaxy. And yet at the thought of killing him, Anakin's stomach turned over and he swallowed hard to keep from being sick. Visions clustered in the corners of his mind of him sweeping through the Temple and slaughtering the Jedi, young and old.

"No." Anakin shook his head, and the thoughts dissipated. He extended his bo staff. "I will fight with this."

"He will cut that to pieces, Anakin."

"I won't let him."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, taking his most stern and frustrated tone. The tone he used often in Anakin's later teenage years all the way to present. The I-can-barely-tolerate-this-level-of-madness tone. "Maul is not one to be trifled with. In case you have forgotten—"

"I know, Master. I have seen your memories as well as your future. I know Maul's strengths and weaknesses as well as you." Anakin looked Obi-Wan over and then bypassed him to lead the way to the Sith temple. "Just stay safe. If things look rough, get out of there. There's no point in both of us dying."

"Either," Obi-Wan said with another angry puff of air. He pursued Anakin. "There's no point in either of us dying."

Anakin rolled his eyes, not that Obi-Wan could see behind the mask. They made their way through another forest of spiky orange trees and closer to the temple. The potato creatures fired their bizarre cannon shots at the Separatists, and the massive cannonballs exploded and melted starfighters out of the air. Blaster and laser bolts answered and sent dozens of the beings to the ground in swirls of dust. Others rushed to fill the gaps made by their fallen comrades.

Perhaps because of the constant disruptions by starfighters or the constant explosions, the clouds began to crumble and give way to pale purple skies.

By the time Anakin and Obi-Wan climbed to the massive double doors of the temple, Obi-Wan clasped at his chest and gasped for air. Sweat plastered his hair to his head and his clothes to his body.

Fear rippled through Anakin, but he hastily snuffed it out. Perhaps if he opened the connection between them, Obi-Wan could feed off his tolerance to the dark side. If Anakin did that, Obi-Wan would see how deeply and intimately connected to the Sith Anakin truly was. How easy it would be for him to slip. Anakin couldn't bear that disappointment.

He would if he had to, but only if it meant saving Obi-Wan's life.

Obi-Wan shuffled to one of the doors already ajar and peered inside. He slipped through, and Anakin hurriedly followed. He needed to take the lead in case Maul set a trap for them. Something in him still told him a trap had been set, but not yet. Soon. The sinking feeling in his stomach wouldn't leave.

Anakin moved ahead of Obi-Wan and set a slow but steady pace. The deeper they got into the temple, which consisted of several levels joined by stairs that twisted towards the peak, the more Obi-Wan lagged. He clutched at his chest and heaved for air, and he staggered into a wall and had to use it to catch his balance.

Another wave of fear threatened to drown Anakin, but he killed it. Regardless of what happened, he would protect Obi-Wan or die trying.

They reached another set of doors where the stairs leveled off at the center of the pyramid. Anakin pushed through the open door, and the hinges gave a rusty whine.

At the distant side of the square room stood a towering throne where once an arrogant Sith Lord sat. A stone pedestal stood at the right arm of the throne, and from the pedestal Maul lifted a glowing red holocron. Maul turned the holocron before dropping his hands to his sides.

"I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up, Kenobi. And you even brought your pupil," Maul said. He turned in a rush of fabric, his black cloak spinning around. He looked straight past Anakin to Obi-Wan, and his lips curled into a half smile, cold and cruel. He flipped the holocron in his hand. "You don't look well, Kenobi. To one unfamiliar with it, the dark side of the Force can feel rather… heavy. Wouldn't you agree, Skywalker?" Maul's lip curled to show a fang. "Or is it Vader?"

Anakin stepped forward, planting himself between Maul and Obi-Wan. He let himself feel Maul's history through the memories he'd received from Obi-Wan. Let them settle in his muscles and bones, let him know the fighter.

"You must remember the dark side well to feel no ill effects of it now," Maul said to Anakin, his words calculated.

Goading, but it didn't bother Anakin. Anakin already knew he was a walking disaster ready to decimate the galaxy at any given moment. Ready to make the next awful choice, to make the next foolish decision that made everyone around him suffer.

"Tell me, Skywalker. How does it feel to know you were groomed by the most powerful being in the galaxy?" Maul asked, but his eyes flicked from Anakin to Obi-Wan. "How does it feel to know your precious Jedi handed you over to be manipulated for years by a Sith Lord, only they still insist on taking no blame for their actions?" He bared his teeth and ran his tongue across those in the front, feral and savoring every word that spewed from his lips. "Everything went wrong because of Anakin Skywalker and had nothing to do with the wise Jedi giving a child over to the—"

"Stop talking," Anakin snapped.

He had no interest in hearing anyone blame the Jedi, particularly since Maul was now goading Obi-Wan. No one knew Palpatine's true identity; no one knowingly handed Anakin to anyone, least of all to a Sith Lord. Anakin had been trained as a Jedi, should have known better, and should have been aware of the manipulations. Obi-Wan had even told Qui-Gon so in the distant future. Anakin had been trained. Anakin had the knowledge. He chose wrong.

Anakin would never allow Maul to try to convince Obi-Wan otherwise. To declare his intent, he slipped one arm from the cloak, passed his bo staff to the other hand, and removed the garment altogether. It was Obi-Wan's, so he tossed it behind him in Obi-Wan's direction. He spun his bo staff in preparation for battle.

Maul's face twisted with glee, and he snorted.

"Kenobi, what is this? Your boy comes at me with a pipe?"

"It's a bo staff," Obi-Wan corrected a little too quickly.

Anakin shot him a glare over his shoulder. The mask concealed it, but it at least made him feel better.

"Oh, this is going to be fun," Maul said, his grin spreading, his yellow eyes growing wide with delight.

He tucked the holocron into his belt, flung his cloak off his shoulders, and drew his double-bladed lightsaber. He ignited it and twirled it around in a flashy red display.

"I am going to put your apprentice down, Kenobi." Maul's voice slowed, and he savored the words. "I'm going to start by cutting off his legs, nice and slow. Then his hands, then his arms. Bit by bit. I'll ensure he lasts a while so you can hear him scream."

"Do you ever stop talking?" Obi-Wan asked, and anger clipped his words.

"Oh, don't worry, Kenobi. After I finish by lopping off his head, I'll deal with you." Maul sounded out every syllable as he added, "I'll put my blade through your gut the same way I did with your dear Master Qui-Gon—"

Anakin moved. He felt no rage or anger, only concern for Obi-Wan. His mind emptied and he found himself lost in the guidance of the Force.

He swung his staff wide on Maul, who dodged and flipped up a blade of his lightsaber to cut through the blow. Anakin stopped his staff by a centimeter to keep it from being sliced apart, dipped under Maul, and brought up the other half of his staff to try to smash Maul in the abdomen. Maul dropped the other half of his weapon and forced Anakin to backpedal. Maul scoffed at his efforts, and the electrified whir of his lightsaber blades was the only sound Anakin heard.

Anakin sank deeper into the Force.

Time didn't slow, but for Anakin, it felt like it did. He saw, or sensed, Maul's movements from the slightest twist of his wrist and the shift of his feet.

Maul whirled his dual-bladed lightsaber and hammered at Anakin from both sides, but Anakin gave ground and answered by slamming his staff against the hilt of the lightsaber on either side, back and forth, always keeping the blazing blades from striking. He struck the hilt and slid his staff down to hit Maul's hand and loose his grip, but Maul shifted to the other hand and out of Anakin's reach. Anakin did likewise on the other side.

"You're better than I thought," Maul commented. His grin was gone.

Maul did not relent, and he swung from the side. Anakin clipped the hilt and slammed it upwards with the Force, throwing Maul off balance. Maul turned a complete circle and brought down his other blade. Anakin somersaulted underneath, slammed his staff into the stone floor, and vaulted himself around it. He planted a solid kick to Maul's side before he landed and slashed his staff downward over Maul's head. Maul dropped to a knee as he staggered—no, he ducked and swept upwards to meet Anakin's blow. Anakin hit the hilt again to restrain the blade from cutting him, but Maul pushed with the Force, Anakin pushed back, and they stepped away from each other.

They dove at each other again, Maul's blades whirling in a flashy and arrogant display. Despite Anakin's ability to match his speed, he could not meet Maul blade to blade. He truly was at a disadvantage, because Obi-Wan always had to be right. But a disadvantage need not lead to defeat. If Anakin knew one thing best, it was that the Sith had a bit too much arrogance.

Anakin increased his speed, increased the rate of his defensive thrusts and swings. He pushed harder, until Maul took several steps back. Anakin struck Maul's hand on the hilt and forced the blade down. Maul took the opening, twisted his weapon to his other hand and around himself, and swung at Anakin in a wide arc. Anakin ducked and let the top section of his staff get severed, and Maul let out a triumphant bark when the metal clattered to the stone floor. He swept the other end of his lightsaber down.

Predictable enough. Anakin snatched the broken part of his staff with the Force and chucked it at Maul's head. Maul, of course, responded by slashing to deflect it, and Anakin stabbed his staff into Maul's gut in the space between, adding a little push from the Force to make the blow stick. He lunged to stay on Maul, to make use of his momentary staggering, and stuck his shortened staff between Maul's wrists, the former Sith grabbing the hilt of his lightsaber in both hands in an effort to maintain control as he staggered. Anakin dropped one side of his staff down on the top of one of Maul's wrists and brought the other end up under the other wrist. Then he twisted with all his might.

Maul let out a shout and released with one hand, trying to break the move that would have shattered both wrists. Anakin pulled back with his staff over the hilt of Maul's lightsaber and slammed the metal down on the remaining hand. Maul's fingers released under the weight of the blow, allowing Anakin to seize the lightsaber. He caught it in the air, spun it around, and aimed it at Maul as Maul staggered. Maul stopped in a partial crouch when the tip of the red blade pointed at his face.

"Are you going to cut off my head," Maul asked, puffing for air, "like you did to Count Dooku?"

More goading. Almost like Maul wanted Anakin to hack him apart. Maybe he did, if his endgame was to see Obi-Wan suffer. Darth Vader would, in fact, destroy Obi-Wan.

"You're coming with us," Anakin said. He disengaged the weapon. "Give me the holocron."

A chorus of screams from outside distracted them. The incoherent yelling of the potato people echoed through the vast halls of the barren temple. Explosions followed and rumbled through the walls and floor, shaking dust and chips of stone from the ceiling. A hum reverberated through the air like the distant roar of an approaching ship's engines.

The cries of the people grew louder and echoed in Anakin's head. His instincts told him to go to them and help them. As if stirred by the screams, visions and voices of the future clamored to the forefront of Anakin's thoughts. Hundreds upon thousands of voices ricocheted through his mind, the laments of those he destroyed as his true and future self.

"Not now," he muttered at the Force.

Planets ruined. People enslaved. Hope crushed.

Their voices reached Anakin in a maelstrom of sound, so that he couldn't differentiate any of them. The visions flashed before his mind's eye quicker than he could recognize, but he felt the agony, the suffering, the despair.

Several specific images pushed ahead of the rest. Scenes played through Anakin's mind of a brilliant flash of light decimating prickly trees and people plump and round. Only a barren, crippled wasteland remained after the flash, and then the images gave way to his life as Vader and a cacophony of wails.

Someone said his name. Obi-Wan?

Anakin's head throbbed, and his vision blurred. He brought his hand to his forehead. A wave of pain like Force lightning tore through his muscles until they all contracted, and he bent forward against the sensation.

The web of voices in his mind separated out until he could hear every voice, one by one, while they all screamed at the same time. Individual people from a planet of millions. It only made the pain worse, pulling his focus in too many directions. He choked down the contents of his stomach.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted.

Anakin blinked to clear his vision and felt the sensation of urgency a moment too late. Maul lunged at him and hit him hard in the stomach. Completely off guard, Anakin flew backwards and dropped both weapons. Maul caught his lightsaber and ignited it before Anakin had a chance to catch his footing.

The blazing red lightsaber slashed down over his head, and Anakin had nothing with which to defend himself.


	12. Desperate Measures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you SO MUCH for all your continued support~ You guys are legit the best!!

Obi-Wan shouted something and flew between Maul and Anakin with his own lightsaber flashing. Obi-Wan managed to catch Maul's blade, and he and Anakin in perfect, wordless harmony pushed at Maul with the Force to throw him across the room. Anakin tottered, but Obi-Wan grabbed his arm and kept him upright. Obi-Wan had his cloak slung over his arm, so Anakin didn't see the hand on his arm, but he felt its firm grip.

Maul spun his lightsaber around himself but turned and Force leaped to one of the narrow windows at the top of the room. He shattered through the ruby glass and disappeared. Anakin took one step after him, but Obi-Wan maintained his grip on his arm and pulled him back.

"Let him go," he said. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Anakin said, and not even the mask of Darth Vader could have made it sound believable. His voice broke and he gasped for air.

The screams outside continued, and Anakin followed his initial instincts to figure out what caused them and see if he couldn't do something about it. Obi-Wan joined him without argument, still limping, but Anakin wasn't in much better shape. They stumbled together through the temple until they reached the steps overlooking the battlefield.

Both halted.

"You have got to be…" Obi-Wan's words died in his mouth.

The Death Star hung in the pastel purple sky like a spare moon. Bright and close. The Separatist ships took off from the ground, and most of the droids and tanks had vanished. They would only flee for one of two reasons: they knew Maul had the holocron, which didn't explain their quick evacuation, or they knew something bad was about to happen. The potato people dropped their weapons and scattered.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan said.

"I was about to say that."

Anakin swallowed hard. The tension in his muscles increased and the knot in his stomach tightened. Sweat trickled down his face. More images exploded through his mind of a flash and a people laid waste. A vision. It was always a vision of the future, wasn't it? Nothing with greater meaning or importance, only legitimate, true visions of the future.

"It's going to fire," Anakin said, his voice caught in a whisper. "It's going to kill everyone."

A shiver swept through Anakin, followed closely by desperation and fiery resolve. If the Force wanted to give him those visions, wanted him to suffer through them, he'd fight back. He would find a way to stop it. And so he sprang into action and headed for the stairs, and Obi-Wan followed only until the bottom, at which point Anakin ran straight and Obi-Wan ran in the direction of their ship.

"Anakin! We need to get off this planet!"

"Go," Anakin called out. "Get the ship. Hurry!"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find a way to stop it."

"What can you possibly do on the ground?" Obi-Wan yelled at him, a mix of desperate concern and frustration. "We are no good to these people or anyone else if we are dead."

"Just—go!" Anakin swept a hand at Obi-Wan and ran. "Bring the ship around and meet me. I have a plan."

"Ana—" Obi-Wan growled out a shout as Anakin ran away but didn't pursue him.

Anakin raced through the vacant battlefield. He searched for the discarded shoulder cannons of the potato people and anything left behind by the Separatists. He found only one cannon, and he used the Force to lift and tip the weapon to capture the black soot ball from inside of it. He gagged at the cloud of noxious gas that poured out with it. Lifting the ball high overhead so its stench wouldn't reach him, he followed a familiar pull from the Force and ran.

He covered a vast distance by lengthening his strides with the Force. He broke through a sprawling forest of prickly trees and into an abandoned village. Railways wove through the village and towards the surrounding hills. The few railway carts in the village were covered in thick layers of black soot and slime. The same substance in the cannonballs.

The Force continued to draw him through the village and along one of the railways. The village gave way to a vast plain where many of the railways intersected. Fissures spread through the rocky ground, and noxious black gas erupted and fizzled to green in the air.

Sooty cannonballs filled several of the carts sitting on the railways.

Anakin emptied several of the carts and moved all of the cannonballs into a single cart. Using the Force, he hoisted the whole cart into the air, high above his head, so that Obi-Wan might see and come for him. R2 should be running scans for him.

Overhead, the Death Star glared at him. Purple clouds scudded across its face and painted it with splashes of color. Seemingly so harmless, almost beautiful.

Another wave of visions struck, scenes of the potato people obliterated by a flash of white, and Anakin nearly dropped the cart as his focus shattered. He stumbled backwards, flares of pain firing through his head.

A streak of silver burst over the trees as the Naboo star skiff locked on his position. Anakin ran for the ship and dragged the cart with him. As the door opened, he realized there would be no easy way to install the cannonballs into the ship's weaponry on such short notice.

Anakin swung the cart to the front of the ship, grappled all of the cannonballs with his mind through the Force, and jumped into the ship and made for the cockpit.

"What are you doing? What are those?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Cannonballs," Anakin said. He stood over the command console and pressed both hands to the metal for stability. He closed his eyes, listened, and waited. Concentrated on the task at hand and the explosive weapons he dangled in front of the ship. "Get us up there. Take us close."

"Are those…" Obi-Wan's voice held significant concern, and Anakin understood.

If he lost control of his powers, as he was so wont to do, the cannonballs would blow their ship to pieces.

Obi-Wan left his concerns at that and took the ship through the atmosphere and into space.

Anakin maintained his focus even as he opened his eyes. They closed in on the massive weapon in time to see the tributary lasers around the Eye illuminate, one after another, in slow succession. Anakin's stomach dropped.

"Open fire, Master! Destroy those lasers!"

Before Anakin finished the command, Obi-Wan fired on the enormous lens of the Death Star that would decimate the planet. The tributary lasers lit slower than they had in the future. This Death Star wasn't as potent or powerful as the one in the future. Hopefully, Sidious' haste would backfire.

"Get us closer," Anakin said, loud because he competed with the thunder of his pulse in his ears. His heart hammered so fast in his chest that it made him lightheaded. All the while, he maintained his grip on the cannonballs.

The Death Star fired back at them. Even in his rush to produce the weapon, Sidious had managed to layer the outside of the weapon with miniature battle stations. Laser fire forced Obi-Wan into defensive maneuvers, though he continued firing at the charging superlaser.

"Closer," Anakin said.

"Hang on." Obi-Wan swerved through the flashing beams targeting them and edged closer to the Eye of the Death Star.

"Get right in front of it."

Obi-Wan sank beneath enemy fire before shooting straight upwards. They came up to the Eye, and Obi-Wan swung the ship around to slow its pace and give Anakin an opening.

Anakin hurled the cannonballs at the tributaries. Four of the lasers had charged—four more to go.

Four of the cannonballs hit their targets and destroyed the charged lasers. The structures around the Eye of the Death Star flashed black and then green before dissolving completely, leaving scars behind. The power to the lasers died. Yet of the eleven cannonballs Anakin had managed to bring, five were struck by enemy fire and exploded in the emptiness of space, and the others detonated wide of their targets without damaging the lasers.

Exhausted from trying to control their movements, Anakin slumped over the control panel and panted for air.

Another of the lasers charged. The superlaser might not destroy the planet, but it would still kill a good portion of the people on it.

Again, visions flooded Anakin's mind of their impending decimation. He heard their screams. One person, then another, hundreds upon thousands of unique, individual screams. He flinched.

"This isn't working," Obi-Wan commented, his voice tight. He continued to fire on the tributary lasers and managed to destroy one, but another lit immediately after it.

Another wave of images and screams. The Force wanted Anakin to know they were out of time.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said over the endless, horrific noise in Anakin's mind. "Anakin, there's nothing more we can do. I'm pulling out."

Screams. One person's scream. Then another.

"Move," Anakin said. He wouldn't tolerate it. Wouldn't listen and do nothing.

"Anakin—"

"Move!"

Anakin grabbed the front of Obi-Wan's tunic and hoisted him out of the seat, though Obi-Wan half climbed up in the process anyway. Anakin ignored the gaping mouth and wide eyes on Obi-Wan's face, the stunned horror at seeing Anakin yet again present his uncontrollable rage. Anakin felt only the desperate need to do something and he knew he didn't have a lot of time to do it.

"Full power, Artoo. Give me everything this ship's got," Anakin said to the droid at the back of the cockpit.

R2 whistled in reply and went to work, turning all power sources to their lasers and propulsion.

Anakin pushed the ship forward and careened through a rain of lasers to fire on the charging superlaser once again. He swept past the Eye while pouring his attacks on one of the charged lasers, shattering it. Another of the tributaries sparked to life immediately after. Three left, two unlit.

Screams. It would still kill them. It still had too much power. Anakin's throat constricted.

"Anakin—"

"More power, Artoo. Get rid of anything unnecessary," Anakin shouted over Obi-Wan's concern. He needed the weapon systems to hit harder and faster.

Spinning through a barrage of lasers, Anakin swung the skiff back around and came in for another sweep. He shot at the next laser to be charged as they zipped past—and failed to destroy it. Anakin choked. The laser blinked to life. The final laser built its charge.

"Anakin, we need to get out of here," Obi-Wan yelled at him. "There is nothing else we can do here. You cannot—you can't—you cannot save everyone!"

Visions. Screams. Anakin flinched and shook his head. Then why would the Force show him? Why would he see this? Why, if only to turn a blind eye? Was it so they could save themselves and let everyone else die?

No. Because he couldn't do that. Not again. Not when he'd destroyed the galaxy by doing that very same thing. He tried to save only what mattered to him at the cost of everything else. He would not do that again.

He'd stood by once and did nothing as Tarkin destroyed Alderaan. As Leia watched. Anakin had done nothing. Just like he did nothing to save his mom. Yet when he tried with Padmé, he killed her instead. Was there not balance to be found between protecting the ones he loved and also serving the Force? Could he not do both?

The final laser charged, and the lens adjusted to the presence of fewer beams.

"Go to the back and sit. Strap in. Artoo! Strap in!"

"Anakin—"

"Go! Now!" Anakin screamed at them.

He hoped they listened, but he didn't look to see. He heard footsteps, heard R2 scream and zip through the door.

Anakin pushed the ship forward at full speed. He swiveled around the lens, twisting and turning to dodge laser fire, and scanned the lasers, the beams, the twist and tilt of the lens. The two beams met in the center and burst into a brilliant light.

"Anakin!"

Anakin tore upwards, flipped over, and dove straight down at the lens. At the amassing energy that would fire and rip the planet apart. Using the Force, he created a barrier around the front of the ship and around the lens, the same sort he'd used to mow down droids and block blaster and laser bolts. Focused hard, until his blood roared in his ears and pain burned through every inch of him.

Like the flames of Mustafar.

"I won't do nothing," Anakin said, mostly to himself, a little to the Force, and a little to Obi-Wan. "I won't do nothing this time."

He torpedoed the ship straight at the lens and its blazing death laser. Obi-Wan's desperate shout echoed in the back of his mind. Anakin flipped the ship sideways at the last moment and let the belly of the ship scrape along the edge of the Death Star, along the tributary lasers. He swung the Naboo star skiff in a circle around the lens and opened fire.

He hoped he hit the lasers hard enough to destroy them, but from so close, it was impossible to tell.

Metal panels went flying, and a series of explosions engulfed the ship. Everything lurched as the skiff's underbelly tore against the Death Star—and, hopefully, as the Death Star tore against the ship. A piece of metal flew up and clipped the nose of the skiff and set the vessel careening sideways. Not as planned.

A flash of white filled the bridge, and Anakin had the sickening sensation that he'd failed. He felt a pulse through the Force, one that slammed into the barriers he'd created. The ship skidded over the Death Star and wheeled off its surface, flipping over and over, bouncing like a pebble skipping over water.

At their velocity, that was dangerous enough. Anakin flew from his seat because, like an idiot, he'd not strapped himself in. The white blinded him, and up became down, everything turned over. Pain tore through him, and then his helmeted head slammed hard into something.


	13. Dead in Space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to ALL of you for reading and supporting this story in all the ways you do~ Please continue to enjoy!

Faint lights blinked in and out of existence in a slow and steady rhythm. Obi-Wan watched them a while, until his vision cleared. His head and neck ached from being thrown about in his seat, but he'd buckled in per Anakin's command and luckily hadn't gone flying.

Anakin.

Obi-Wan rubbed his eyes and focused ahead of him at the pilot's seat. Anakin wasn't in it. He had to let his eyes adjust further to the dim lighting before he caught sight of the lump on the floor in the far right corner of the cockpit. If not for Anakin's light clothes, the shadows might have concealed him.

"Anakin!"

Obi-Wan ripped the buckles off and flung them away as he shoved off his seat and hit his knees at Anakin's side. Anakin lay on his back and wheezed through the mask of Vader. Something gurgled in his throat until he had a wet coughing fit, and then he returned to wheezing. Obi-Wan remembered vividly how Anakin abused the Force and suffered the consequences for it, and he had no doubt now would be similar.

Anakin had kept the ship in one piece even as it skittered across the Death Star like a ball rolling down a hill.

The Death Star.

Obi-Wan flew to his feet and tottered sideways as a bout of lightheadedness struck. He grabbed the back of the nearest seat and slid to the next, carefully making his way to the viewport. The ship had stopped at such an angle that the planet lay just off to the side. Whole and intact. The Death Star was nowhere to be found.

He checked the chrono to find a significant enough amount of time had passed for the massive weapon to get away. Having been unconscious for that long, they were lucky it hadn't obliterated them. Perhaps Anakin had done enough damage to force its retreat. Or, more likely, Sidious still wanted Anakin alive.

Everything Sidious did was intended to push Anakin over the edge. Hopefully, everything Anakin did defied Sidious' expectations.

Obi-Wan pressed at some of the controls, but as he thought, the ship was dead. It wouldn't be taking them anywhere.

R2 whistled and came through the door. One of its wheels had bent sideways, but otherwise it appeared no worse for wear. Nothing Anakin couldn't fix. The droid halted at Anakin's side and whistled and beeped in sorrowful tones.

"Artoo, contact the Temple," Obi-Wan said, and he tossed R2 his official comlink in case the droid had been damaged. R2 caught the device with a utility arm. "Let them know we're damaged and in need of immediate assistance. We'll need a medic."

R2 beeped in reply and shot to the back of the cockpit, where it worked at transmitting its message. Obi-Wan returned to his sputtering and wheezing former Padawan.

"Anakin, can you hear me?" Obi-Wan asked, though he doubted Anakin would be conscious.

Obi-Wan attempted to remove the helmet Anakin wore so that he might breathe freely, but it stuck to whatever voice contraption Anakin used to clip it to his neck. The whole thing was a mess. His fingers dug into the mechanism to no avail.

"Anakin," he said, and then his finger cut on whatever lock held the helmet in place. "Blast this confounded mask—"

It clicked, and the helmet disassembled from around Anakin's neck and head. In frustration and hoping it would break, Obi-Wan flung it across the bridge. R2 turned its optical eye on him as he did so and beeped at him in apparent annoyance. 'Be quiet,' or something of that nature.

Blood ran down Anakin's face, and a large quantity dumped from the mask as Obi-Wan removed it. Obi-Wan removed one layer of his tunic and wiped away the blood—and hated that this had become normal for him—and then turned Anakin's head when he coughed on more blood.

Anakin murmured something and blinked, his eyes glassy and tinged red.

Obi-Wan gingerly ran his hand over Anakin's head in search of further head trauma, but he only found traces of the previous knot. Anakin didn't respond to his touch and simply stared into the darkness, blood pooling under his face.

"Anakin, can you hear me?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin's eyes shot wide, and he jumped from the floor even though Obi-Wan tried to catch him with a hand on each shoulder.

"Anakin, don't move—"

"The planet!"

Anakin got to his feet long enough to view the planet before every muscle in him went limp and he crumbled back to the floor. Obi-Wan caught him on the way and eased him down, and Anakin grimaced at the slight movements. Always on the move, even when he was quite literally broken.

"Quit moving," Obi-Wan said, though he didn't have the heart to sound too stern. Anakin didn't have the strength left to do much of anything. "You're badly injured, Anakin. Be still."

Anakin sputtered up another mouthful of blood. Obi-Wan wiped at it again and wondered why he bothered. It would be a while before it stopped.

"You really need to stop doing this." Obi-Wan spoke with more force. As serious and stern as he could muster when Anakin had nearly just killed himself again for the sake of others. For the sake of strangers. For the greater good.

He found himself both proud of Anakin's actions and fearful for his self-destructive behaviors. A twisted and confusing conundrum.

"I'll be all right," Anakin managed to say, but it ignited another coughing fit. At least the tears that spilled from his eyes at that point were no longer bloody. "Always am."

Obi-Wan placed a hand on Anakin's head and placed the other on his shoulder, both to steady and still him. Even though they had no open bond, he pushed suggestions of comfort, warmth, and peace through the Force to his young friend. As well as suggestions for sleep. Anakin's eyelids fluttered but didn't close.

"And what if, next time, you're not?" Obi-Wan asked. "What am I to do with you then?"

Resignation touched his words, because he feared that day. He feared the next time Anakin would push too hard, do too much, and damage himself beyond repair. He wondered at the future—if the Force only kept Anakin alive long enough to deal with Sidious. Obi-Wan wondered if Anakin had an expiration date pursuing him across the galaxy that would snuff out this too-powerful creation of the Force when he'd served his purpose.

Like a tool to be disposed of after use.

But the Force could never be so cruel.

Anakin blinked at Obi-Wan in a lethargic daze.

Researchers had examined the initial medical reports after Anakin had collapsed at the HoloNet Station. Using the Force too much, if that was possible, had disrupted his midi-chlorians and pushed his heart to work harder and his blood to move faster. Researchers likened it to a dark-side user, the way the dark side corrupted the physical body of those trying to wield it. Anakin hadn't touched the dark side, and Obi-Wan doubted Anakin even intentionally thought of laying claim to the Force or its power. He simply… did. He moved on instinct and trusted things to work out. And they did.

Until they didn't.

"Sorry," Anakin said, and he spit out another clump of blood. "And sorry… I threw you out of the chair."

Of all things. Obi-Wan glanced at the planet through the viewport, though from the floor he could only see the top of it. Somehow, Anakin had saved those people. He'd been frantic and desperate, but he'd done it for them. He could not fault him for that.

"I'll forgive you," Obi-Wan said, and he brought up a smile. He placed his hand on Anakin's head and smoothed sweat-stroked hair away from his face. "But next time, give me fair warning."

Anakin made a sound like a laugh, but it only made him cough. Obi-Wan kept both hands on him, hoping Anakin would get a sense of comfort and stability through the physical connection if not through a bond. Obi-Wan sent suggestions for sleep through the Force, and when Anakin stilled, Obi-Wan concentrated on healing the worst of his former Padawan's injuries. It wasn't a skill at which he was proficient, but it would be better than nothing. Obi-Wan felt strength leave him as he mended torn muscles and bruised organs. Anakin was a mess.

"The ship?" Anakin asked. His voice faded.

"A disaster. It isn't flyable." Obi-Wan looked to R2 and saw the droid waiting. "Artoo sent a message for someone to retrieve us."

"Good."

Anakin relaxed under Obi-Wan's hands. At last, his eyes closed, but a great wave of chills swept over him.

Obi-Wan ran his hand one last time through Anakin's hair and then removed his cloak and laid it over his former Padawan. Obi-Wan thought to grab it during Anakin and Maul's fight only on the off chance he might be able to throw it at Maul as a distraction. Now he was glad he had saved it.

Obi-Wan ensured Anakin wouldn't wake, rose using the nearest chair, and ran a hand through his own hair. A little less matted and sticky but still a mess. He moved toward the back of the bridge and paused near R2's claimed workstation.

"Any response to the message?" Obi-Wan asked.

R2 beeped and presented a holographic projection of the status of the message: _Transmitted._

So the message had safely sent but couldn't be verified to have reached its destination. Obi-Wan hoped that it was merely a delay due to distance.

"Keep monitoring, and alert me if you hear anything in reply," Obi-Wan said. He offered a quick nod in Anakin's direction. "Keep an eye on him and let me know if he wakes or starts to fret."

R2 beeped in affirmative reply.

Obi-Wan exited the bridge. He went first to the refresher and cleaned up as best he could given the circumstances. The ship didn't have running water, so he made do without. He grabbed the medkit, water bottles, and rations on the way to the sleep quarters, where he gathered several blankets. He'd noticed the temperature dropping due to the ship's failed systems, and Anakin was already chilled from fever.

With supplies in hand, he shuffled back to the cockpit. Pain grated at his temples, and tightness ran through his shoulders, neck, and head from jostling when the ship crashed. He ached, but nothing unmanageable. He could do with a little meditation and rest.

Obi-Wan returned to the cockpit and stopped first at R2.

"Any word?"

R2 presented the same screen as before. _Transmitted._

"Extend the transmission to reach any nearby Republic vessels."

R2 beeped in acknowledgment.

"How are we doing on life support?"

The astromech droid swiveled and plugged into the nearest console, though the computer itself remained dead. R2 brought up a projection of the ship's systems through its own framework. The temperature had fallen considerably, though Obi-Wan barely noticed, but the oxygen levels remained satisfactory. They would manage.

"Try using this to reach out," Obi-Wan said, offering his personal comlink to R2.

Obi-Wan returned his attention to Anakin. His former Padawan had curled into a ball and shivered against the cold despite the cloak set over him. As he usually did, Anakin cringed and muttered in his sleep, and his arms and legs twitched as he acted out against the nightmares in his head.

Using gauze from the medkit and water, Obi-Wan cleaned Anakin as best he could short of throwing him in the shower, and he cleaned the pool of blood underneath him. Obi-Wan folded one blanket and placed it under Anakin's head and spread the other two over him. Satisfied Anakin would be as comfortable as their circumstances allowed, Obi-Wan sat on the floor and leaned back against the console nearest Anakin. He rested his hand over Anakin's forehead. Immense heat flooded into his palm.

"Sleep, my young friend," he said, and he offered a gentle suggestion through the Force. "Rest."

Anakin mumbled and went still. Obi-Wan allowed his hand to linger before drawing it back to himself. R2 would alert him of any changes, so he ought to take the opportunity to meditate and rest while he could. He crossed his legs, set his palms on his thighs, and closed his eyes.


	14. Shattered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, all!!

It hurt to open his eyes. Pain flared through Anakin's temples to the back of his skull before radiating through his entire body. Uncontrollable shivers took his arms and legs, and he curled into a ball in a vain attempt to warm himself.

Beside him, Obi-Wan sat against a console with his head back, eyes closed, and legs stretched out. Faint red lights blinked on and off. Warning lights.

Everything rushed back to him: the Death Star, the planet in danger, crashing the ship. The planet hadn't been destroyed, but he wasn't sure about their vessel or what poor circumstances he'd left for him and Obi-Wan.

Anakin pushed himself off the floor to inspect the damage he'd caused, but his arms wobbled under his weight. It took several attempts to get his knees to bend underneath him, and his flailing across the floor woke Obi-Wan. His former Master grabbed his arms and halted him.

"Good grief, Anakin, for one moment, be still _,"_ Obi-Wan said with a particularly high level of annoyance. He must have been in pain and exhausted. "Must you be unconscious in order for you to stop moving?"

Anakin used Obi-Wan's arms to leverage himself to the console. He sat beside Obi-Wan, shoulder to shoulder. Chills rattled through Anakin's bones, so he gathered up the cloak and blankets and drew them over him. He paused at the cloak and was pleased to see it had survived

"Aren't you glad I took the cloak off?" he asked Obi-Wan, lifting the fabric to present it to his former Master. "I didn't get any blood on it."

Obi-Wan gave Anakin an undecipherable look. Shock? Horror? Frustration? Nothing pleasant.

"Yes, Anakin," he muttered. "All things considered, my one great relief is that you managed to preserve my cloak."

"You lose a lot of them," Anakin said. He tugged the cloak and the blankets around him and burrowed into a tight bundle. "Half the Order's expenses probably come from replacing your cloaks."

"And the other half from you crashing ships," Obi-Wan said with a smirk. He looked Anakin over, top to bottom and back again, and the smile vanished. He handed Anakin a water bottle and a ration bar. "Eat and drink. You need to replenish your strength. You lost a lot of blood."

Anakin nestled into his makeshift cocoon and sipped water and nibbled the bar. Everything tasted metallic from the blood still running down his throat. He ate and drank anyway, because Obi-Wan would never leave him alone if he didn't. He sank deeper into his bundle and leaned on Obi-Wan, appreciating the extra warmth.

"You should sleep," Obi-Wan said. He frowned and folded his arms over his chest. "I'll wake you if something happens."

Anakin glanced around. They were waiting for help. The temperature drop probably resulted from system failures, which meant oxygen would also decrease. No, he'd left Obi-Wan to his own devices for too long.

"No one's coming?" he asked.

"Artoo just sent another transmission. It's going out, but whether someone is there to receive it…" Obi-Wan sighed and scratched his head. "We might be in for a wait."

"I could try to fix it. If we could at least get the ship moving, maybe…"

"Unfortunately, there's not much left of a ship to move."

Anakin sighed. He wasn't even supposed to be with the Jedi, and yet somehow he managed to destroy Obi-Wan's ship. And not just any ship—the vessel Obi-Wan borrowed from Anakin's ex-wife and the mother of his children. Disaster upon disaster upon disaster.

Obi-Wan must have sensed his thoughts.

"Anakin, you saved a planet," Obi-Wan said. "I think the ship was an acceptable loss."

Was there such a thing as an acceptable loss? Anakin scrubbed his forehead, but the ache wouldn't go away. Why did he have to be so messy? Why couldn't he resolve things in a neat and orderly fashion like everyone else? Walk in, do the job, and walk out without significant repercussions to life or property.

Silence passed between them, and Anakin couldn't help but feel the fool again. Obi-Wan continually invested time and energy into him, and Anakin let him down every time. It was a game Anakin tired of playing.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, his tone soft. "You saved that planet."

"But I will destroy many others," Anakin said without thinking. What did one rescued planet matter when he would subjugate the entire galaxy?

"You alone are not responsible for the entire galaxy." Obi-Wan set a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you're not that powerful."

"I may not be powerful enough to save anyone, but I'm certainly capable of killing everyone well enough." Anakin slumped away from Obi-Wan, and in doing so he broke Obi-Wan's light grip on his shoulder. Distance was necessary. He had to remember that. "I'm responsible for that."

"Agreed," Obi-Wan said, carefully. "If in this lifetime you did. But you are not to blame for what Sidious does, past, present, or future."

"Yes, I am, Master. He's trying to get to me." Tears stung Anakin's eyes and threatened to fall, so he turned his face from Obi-Wan and glared at the shadows. "It's my responsibility to stop him, and I haven't yet. Whatever he does in the meantime is my fault."

"Anakin, you are not responsible for Sidious' actions." Obi-Wan took an exasperated tone.

"I'm the Chosen One, remember?" Anakin had been reminded of that his entire life. Obi-Wan had reminded him of it when he left him to burn on Mustafar. "The Force created me to destroy the Sith, and I didn't. I didn't in the past, and a Sith Lord became the Chancellor. I didn't in the present, and now he's terrorizing the galaxy with the Death Star. And I'll join him in the future."

The words spouted out, and Anakin couldn't stop them. It had to be the fever.

Obi-Wan made a few quiet sounds before speaking.

"What could you possibly have done to prevent any of this?" he asked. "Master Yoda could not defeat Sidious—what could you have done?"

"Apparently it wasn't that hard for me. I just had to throw him into a reactor." More anger, more frustration. Anakin was a disaster, through and through. "The Force didn't even make it hard for me and I couldn't do it without destroying everything first."

"You are not responsible for Sidious, and you are not Darth Vader." Obi-Wan's words tightened. Frustrated and angry. "Just because you hide behind that mask doesn't make that who you are."

"I will be Darth Vader."

"Wh—" Obi-Wan muted. His tone dropped. Steady and cold. "Do you want to become Darth Vader?"

"No—"

"Do you intend to choose the dark side?" Obi-Wan only allowed Anakin to huff at the question before he continued. "Plan on joining Sidious to bring about your new empire?"

"Of course not," Anakin shouted over him. "But I didn't plan on it in the future, either. I didn't wake up one morning thinking it was a great idea to go kill everybody. I don't know why—" Anakin choked. In reality, he knew why. It would be a lie, an excuse, to say otherwise. "I'm broken. Something is wrong with me."

"You are not broken." Obi-Wan said it so quickly, so matter-of-factly, that Anakin was taken aback.

Anger boiled in Anakin's gut and rose to his chest. It burned his cheeks and brought a new flood of hot tears to his eyes. Rage, his constant companion.

"Yes, I am. I always have been. You said I was dangerous, the Council said I was dangerous… Everyone realized something was wrong with me. Even Sidious realized it." Anakin gritted his teeth and swallowed the anger several times, desperately trying to steady his voice. Emotional as always. He hadn't intended to say anything, but the words gushed out. "I was the only one who didn't."

He continued to focus his attention wholly on the shadows in the opposite direction of Obi-Wan, but he felt Obi-Wan shift at his side, heard the rustle of fabric.

"Anakin—"

A comlink beeped across the cockpit, and R2 squealed at the sound and wheeled towards them. The droid thumped along, one of his wheels bent out of line. Obi-Wan grumbled and let out another exasperated sigh, which was an odd reaction considering they'd been waiting for contact, and rose to meet R2. He took the comlink from the droid and dropped into the pilot's seat before accepting the transmission. A projection of Master Windu appeared, but it flickered.

_"Are you receiving this signal well?"_ Master Windu asked.

"Yes, but it's been a while. Is everything all right?"

_"We had trouble receiving your original transmission. It seems it bounced around a while and scrambled before reaching us."_ Master Windu's expression darkened. It was something only those who knew him would notice. _"Be on the lookout. It may have been intercepted. If not for a Republic vessel picking up your second transmission, we may not have realized it was from you."_

Anakin crawled across the floor, so that he would stay out of sight, and grabbed his helmet across the cockpit. He shook out the blood and wiped the inside with his sleeve. The fabric came out bright red. Once it was clean enough, he replaced the helmet on his head and fastened the voice mechanism into place.

_"We're sending a team to meet you. You're to return to the Core immediately. You have a new mission."_

Obi-Wan shifted in his seat, rubbed at his beard, and glanced back at Anakin. He frowned upon seeing the mask and returned his attention to Master Windu.

"We are in need of medical services. My partner was injured in the crash."

Anakin pulled the heap of blankets around him. The chills aggravated him more than anything else. He ached all over and had probably taken a tumble, but nothing felt particularly life-threatening.

_"Severe?"_ Master Windu asked. He almost sounded concerned.

Obi-Wan offered Anakin another glance.

"No. Nothing lethal, I should think. But he shouldn't be fighting until he's treated."

_"Secura will fetch you. She should have a medic and several medical droids on her vessel."_

"Very well," Obi-Wan said. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "What's the mission?"

_"Several of our contacts and many of our forces have sighted the Death Star making its approach to the Core Worlds."_ Master Windu's eyes narrowed. _"We're calling all forces back to infiltrate and stop it before it can cause any harm."_

A knife of pain stabbed through Anakin's temples, and he flinched and gritted his teeth. Visions clamored to the surface of his mind of his life as Darth Vader. The slaughter of the Jedi and the enslavement of the galaxy.

"Any idea on its destination?" Obi-Wan asked.

More pain stabbed through Anakin's head. New visions, visions of things from a different future. From the current future. Alderaan exploding. Bail and Leia killed in a blast that set dozens of bodies adrift in space. Bail running towards him before turning sideways.

_"Not at the moment. The goal is to not find out."_

Anakin grabbed at the helmet over his head as the visions played on repeat. Alderaan destroyed. Bail and Leia killed. Bail running towards him. He shouted something. Repeat.

"Anakin?" Obi-Wan's voice wobbled, lost in the sounds of the explosions. Lost to the screams that echoed through Anakin's mind. Lost in Leia's cries.

"Go away," Anakin said to the visions.

But they didn't. They repeated at least a dozen times before Anakin tucked himself into a corner, drew his knees to his chest, and grabbed the helmet over his head with both hands. Pain coursed from his head through the rest of his body like a steady stream of Force lightning cascading over him.

A sense of urgency pulled at his gut the same way it had moments before the Death Star fired on the planet they'd managed to spare. The same feeling he got right before disaster struck. When they ran out of time.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said. Anakin was vaguely aware of him at his side, a hand on his arm as if to steady him. "Anakin, what do you see?"

Screams of hundreds upon thousands of people. Leia crying right before the explosion. Her fear, even from the vision, reached Anakin through the Force. He clutched at his chest. A tight, invisible hand squeezed his heart and lungs as he felt her terror.

_"What is it?"_ Master Windu asked.

"Anakin, what do you see?" Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin's shoulders, but Anakin wrenched himself out of his hands.

"Nothing," he said, because everything that mattered to him that he tried to save wound up destroyed by him. His mask concealed the tears trickling down his cheeks but did nothing to conceal his voice as it cracked. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing," Obi-Wan said, firmly. Despite Anakin's writhing, he grabbed his shoulders and held fast. "What do you see? Where is the Death Star going?"

"I don't know." Anakin choked back a sob. Darth Vader sounded pathetic when he cried.

Alderaan destroyed. Millions of screams. Bail and Leia dying. Their bodies, and dozens of others, blasted into space. Death upon death. Anakin buried his face against his knees and covered his head with his hands. Imminent. It was imminent. He wouldn't be able to stop it. Just like he couldn't stop Padmé's death. If he tried, it would cost the galaxy everything. How could he do that again?

"Yes, you do. Anakin, what do you see?" Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin's wrists and pulled them down so he could see his face—or at least the mask that covered it.

Anakin shook his head.

"It's going to destroy Alderaan," he said, not knowing why he spoke. With Obi-Wan glaring him down, he couldn't resist. His voice broke as he added, "Senator Organa and Leia die. Leia dies and I can't save her."

Obi-Wan released Anakin and rose. He stumbled into the back of the pilot's seat and stared blankly at Anakin. Eyes wide and mouth open.

_"That isn't possible. Senator Amidala has been given strict orders not to travel until Sidious is brought into custody. The twins should be with her at all times."_

Obi-Wan shook his head and brought his hand over his mouth. He half turned but stared into space. Something in his eyes darkened. Shattered.

"No, Anakin is right," Obi-Wan said. "Senator Amidala sent Leia with Senator Organa to visit Alderaan."

_"What?"_ Master Windu's tone sharpened. _"Who authorized that?"_

"I didn't ask. She assured me Leia would be thoroughly protected." Obi-Wan ran both hands across his face. He moved around the chair and couldn't quite make it to the pilot's seat. Instead, he flopped into the co-pilot's chair.

Anakin stared at him. Stared at the defeat on Obi-Wan's face. It was all true. Leia was with Bail, and they were going to die. Alderaan would be destroyed. All because Anakin failed.

_"We'll alert Alderaan and send units to intercept. All hope is not lost—"_ Master Windu said.

"No!" Anakin flew to his feet and into plain sight.

Master Windu's eyes narrowed at the sight of him—at the sight of the mask.

"We can't… You shouldn't…" Anakin said, but fear strangled the words in his throat. "My visions are wrong. When we try to change them, they come true. We'll cause it, not stop it."

The surge of strength left him, and Anakin sank back to the floor. He brought his hands over his head and shielded his face with his arms. Into the corner he went, shivering and shaking. Pathetic.

Again and again, he watched Leia die. Again and again, Alderaan exploded. Then, Bail ran towards him, shouting. Anakin couldn't read his lips or hear his words. Everything went red.

_"Stop the Death Star,"_ Master Windu said. _"Whatever it takes."_

"Understood."

Silence followed in the cockpit, which only made the screams in Anakin's head that much louder. He leaned deeper and deeper into the corner behind the pilot's seat. Drew his knees tight to his chest and buried his head. Obi-Wan came to him and said something, but Anakin didn't hear it over the violence in his mind. Violence that he either caused or could not control.

"I can't do anything," he said. "I can't change anything."

Leia's death was imminent. And all Anakin could do was curl into a ball in the corner and watch on repeat as his little girl died.


	15. To The Aid of Pirates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading, everyone! And thanks for all of your continued support, in whatever form it takes. I appreciate you SO MUCH! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours~!

Obi-Wan sat in the co-pilot's seat and stared into the blankness of space long after the transmission with Master Windu ended. Anakin wept and then quieted, and Obi-Wan ached at the silence. Tension thickened the air, and despite Anakin's wall that severed their usually strong bond, Anakin's fear was palpable.

A silver streak in the distance distracted Obi-Wan. The streak grew in size until it took shape as a vessel. Obi-Wan leaned forward to ensure he saw correctly and then rose.

"A ship."

As the ship drew closer, it morphed from an indiscernible lump of silver into an unfamiliar vessel. Certainly not something that belonged to the Republic… or the Separatists for that matter.

"Not one of ours," he told Anakin, who dragged himself off the floor. "Someone must have intercepted our transmission."

"Oh no," Anakin murmured when he inspected the approaching vessel. He stepped back and scrubbed at his helmet as if trying to reach his forehead. His raspy breaths quickened through the mask and sounded that much more like Darth Vader. "Pirates. It's one of the ships I raided." He turned two small circles. A thick fog of fear smothered him through the Force. "They must know I'm here. It's my fault."

"Or they're simply here to capture a stranded Jedi."

The ship closed in on their position. While it wasn't a pirate ship Obi-Wan had ever seen, it certainly looked a bit too ragged to belong to any sort of elite force. Dents and dings covered its full length, and a few black scuffs showed wear from blaster and laser fire. The ship locked onto them with a tractor beam, lurching the vessel under Obi-Wan's feet. Anakin staggered and grabbed the back of the pilot's seat.

They weren't getting out without a fight. Obi-Wan's headache had eased to a minor nuisance, but he knew Anakin wasn't quite as lucky. His former Padawan could still barely keep his feet, and no amount of water or ration bars could tend so rapidly to his significant blood loss.

"Stay here and take cover," Obi-Wan said to Anakin as he headed for the door. "I'll try to negotiate. If that doesn't work, I'll fight them off. When you have the opportunity, find an escape pod and get off their ship."

"I'm not leaving you—"

"You will stay here." Obi-Wan took a stern tone, one that rarely worked on Anakin, but he tried anyway. He would not have Anakin marching off to play the hero and getting killed in the process. It took a moment for him to realize he shook a finger at Anakin, too, as though Anakin had ever responded to that. "You are in no shape to fight. You don't even have a weapon. And if you so much as use the Force again…"

The mask of Darth Vader made it impossible to tell how Anakin reacted. Probably not well. When Anakin gave no reply, Obi-Wan turned to R2.

"Make him stay here."

He departed from the cockpit and headed for the boarding ramp. The entire side of the ship had caved in on itself, leaving only a slight walkway between walls. By the time he reached what would have been the main exit, a searing flame cut into the metal from the outside and ate away at the framework.

R2 beeped angrily behind him, drawing his attention as Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber. To his dismay, Anakin followed. He wore Obi-Wan's cloak and carried a pipe with jagged edges in his hand. Something he'd crudely plucked from the wall.

A circle of metal fell out of the crumpled wall, revealing the hangar bay of their captor ship. Obi-Wan prepared for a barrage of blaster fire. A group of ten pirates waited on the other side, and a familiar Weequay in a long coat and goggles stepped ahead of the bunch.

"Kenobi! Skywalker!" Hondo Ohnaka shouted with great joy. He spread his arms in a showy gesture. "My two favorite Jedi."

"Hondo…?" Obi-Wan lowered his lightsaber but didn't disengage the blade. A few of the pirates were armed, but none raised their weapons.

"In the flesh." Hondo gave a curt bow and touched a hand to his chest. "I received your distress signal, and true to my good nature and pure heart, I have come to rescue you. Free of charge."

Obi-Wan felt no sense of danger, so he disengaged his weapon and hopped from the ruins of their vessel into the hangar bay. Anakin stumbled after him and landed with a knee to the floor before he stood and leaned on his pipe. R2 whirred down after them with its rocket boosters.

"Now then, friends…" Hondo glanced at the Naboo star skiff from front to back and scratched at the side of his helmet. "Where might the other half of your ship be?"

"What are you really doing here, Hondo?" Obi-Wan asked. Hondo was nothing if not ruled by ulterior motives.

"How did you get this ship?" Anakin asked.

"Oh—ah, Skywalker," Hondo said, taking a step back from Anakin. His mouth gaped, and then he smiled again and set his hands on his sides. "I heard you had a new look. That mask is… how should I say… dark? A bit drab—"

"Focus, Hondo," Anakin snapped.

"Yes, yes." Hondo waved a dismissive hand at Anakin, and Anakin stiffened at the gesture. "Now that, my friends, is a long story—"

"Abbreviated version, please," Obi-Wan said. He clipped his lightsaber to his belt and folded his arms over his chest.

Hondo scrunched his face as if displeased with the curtness. The displeasure melted away. He grinned and waved his hands about in the air in exaggerated gestures.

"A little intercepting, a little hacking, and we discovered you were here." He leaned forward, and his eyes narrowed. "But en route to rescue my favorite Jedi, we were attacked by the… Ghastly… or the Gangly Gundarks, something of that nature." He waved his hand again in dismissal. "Seems they intercepted your message, too. We got in a scuffle to get here first, some things happened, they took my ships and my men… and then the Republic and the Separatists showed up, because of course they got your message, too. Everyone started fighting, and little ol' Hondo commandeered one of the pirate vessels and escaped to come rescue you." He ended his monologue with a dramatic flourish of his arms and another curt bow. As if he desired applause.

"How wide did you broadcast that signal?" Obi-Wan asked R2, passing the droid a glare. R2 beeped at him belligerently.

"The Republic and the Separatists are fighting?" Anakin asked. Apprehension touched his words.

"Yes, fighting. And the Separatists have your people heavily outnumbered. So we should hurry along and rescue them, yes?" Honda nodded.

All the other pirates nodded and muttered in agreement. Obi-Wan scanned their approving expressions, but his frown only deepened.

"I agree, but you're being awfully accommodating. What's in it for you?"

Hondo let out a short breath as though stunned by the question, and he touched his chest again where he seemed to think he had a heart.

"I'm only being true to my very compassionate nature," he said.

"You want us to rescue your men, don't you?" Anakin asked. He slipped past Hondo and the pirates, heading towards a door leading out of the bay. A few of the pirates followed.

"If you would, please." Hondo hurried after Anakin, and the rest of his crew followed.

Obi-Wan shook his head, shared a glance with R2—as if the droid could exchange exasperated looks with him—and joined the pirates heading towards the bridge. Hondo scurried alongside Anakin.

"Skywalker! I've heard rumors about you. Taken up the life of a pirate, have you?"

Anakin ignored him.

"You're all the talk lately," Hondo said. He swept his hand in the air to dot every word, every syllable enunciated. "Quiet. Quick. Effective." He swung his hands out in another broad gesture, like a welcoming embrace that wasn't reciprocated. "It just so happens I have room for you on my crew. What do you say?" He jumped ahead of Anakin to ensure he had his attention, arms still spread.

Anakin swerved around him and continued his determined march down the corridor.

"No? Well, there's time to think on it. No reason to rush your decision, I understand," Hondo said with a shrug.

When Obi-Wan reached Hondo, he passed him a warning glare. While Anakin likely wouldn't be swayed to a life of crime with the pirates, the last thing he needed was another entity pulling him in another direction.

"Do not worry, my friend, Kenobi. For I also have room for you," Hondo said. He matched Obi-Wan's pace and threw an arm across his shoulders. "Is it not a two-for-one? You and Skywalker come as a set. If one joins, I get the other for free, yes?"

"Thank you for your very generous offer, Hondo." Obi-Wan passed a sidelong glare at Hondo.

"Very big heart, I know," Hondo said, and he patted his hand over his chest again.

Obi-Wan resisted an eye roll and continued onto the bridge. The ship lurched under their feet as they stepped through the door. Several pirates had reached the bridge ahead of them and made the jump into hyperspace. Anakin stopped at the railing on the platform overlooking the bridge, planted one hand on the rail, and didn't move. Obi-Wan joined him and folded his arms across his chest.

"How far out are we?"

"Not far," Hondo said. "It became very heated when we came near, you know. Very valuable, you Jedi." He waggled a finger at them as he leaped over the rail and landed on the lower level of the bridge. He joined his pilot near the viewport and crossed his arms. "Any minute now."

A short span of time passed, during which Hondo paced the bridge with his hands folded behind his back. Anakin continued to lean on the rail until it supported his entire weight. He would not do well in a fight, but Obi-Wan worried he would try to fight anyway. He was pushing too hard.

All because he felt the need to atone for a future that hadn't happened.

The ship jostled as it came out of hyperspace and drew Obi-Wan's attention to the viewport. He inhaled a breath that caught in his throat, and both arms unraveled and fell limp to his sides.

Several starships, from command ships to fighters, waged war in a space lit with explosions and blaster fire. Republic, Separatist, and pirate vessels battled each other for supremacy.

"This certainly doesn't look good," Obi-Wan muttered, and he ran a hand over his face.

"It's my fault," Anakin said. He pulled himself away from the railing and stumbled to one side, aimlessly, before planting himself with the pipe he still carried. His head, already burdened by the Vader helmet, sank. "Everything is my fault."

"Or, everyone is out for themselves and they wanted to capture a Jedi and it had nothing to do with you." Obi-Wan crossed his arms again. "The transmission came from my comlink and would have had my information attached to it."

"Two-for-one," Hondo said from below, with a grand shrug.

"Shut up, Hondo." Obi-Wan didn't even offer the pirate a glance. He kept his glare fixed on Anakin.

"I need a ship," Anakin said. "Hondo, I need a ship!"

"Back to the hangar!" Hondo snapped his fingers and then clapped and rubbed his hands together. He skipped up the stairs to the platform and back out the door.

Anakin marched after him, his strides long and confident despite his weakness. When he set his mind to something, he couldn't be deterred—usually to his own detriment. One of his greatest strengths and most crippling weaknesses.

When they reached the hangar, Hondo sauntered to a large lump covered by a sheet of fabric in the far corner of the bay, tucked inconspicuously behind several crates.

"This hangar was already empty of fighters before we took this ship, but you'll be pleased to know we picked up a few things on the way." Hondo grabbed the sheet and, together with a few of his men, yanked the fabric away to reveal a starfighter. "I have this!"

"Is that a Jedi starfighter?" Obi-Wan shot Hondo another glare. The pirate never ceased to dig himself into holes.

"Come now, he was already dead before I took it." Hondo waved his hands in front of him as if to fend off Obi-Wan's harsh look. "No worries."

"It'll work. Let's go, Artoo." Anakin moved for the ship, and R2 sped after him.

"You will not take that ship," Obi-Wan said, and he caught and held Anakin's arm. R2 took up its position in the starfighter anyway. "You are in no shape to fight. You will stay on this ship with Hondo and wait."

"This is my fault, and I'll fix it." Anakin pushed close to Obi-Wan and stood over him in an attempt at intimidation. Anakin would never intimidate Obi-Wan, not even in Vader's mask. When Obi-Wan didn't relent, Anakin ripped his arm out of his grasp and stormed towards the starfighter with a dramatic flair of his cloak.

"Anakin!"

Obi-Wan took two steps after him, but Anakin ignored him and hopped into the starfighter. The engines roared to life before Obi-Wan had a chance to say or do more. Anakin zipped out of the hangar, and Obi-Wan glared at the flames of the ship's engines as it shot away.

He was getting too old for this.

"Hm. Kenobi and Skywalker fighting?" Hondo materialized beside Obi-Wan and reached out as if to put a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder, but Obi-Wan glared at him. Hondo's hand casually swung around to scratch the back of his helmet.

"Do you have another ship?"

"Why yes, in fact." Hondo strode to the other side of the hangar, behind another row of crates and to another lump covered in a sheet. He and his pirates ripped the fabric away to reveal a clunky silver Separatist starfighter. "We also have this!"

"Neither of your starfighters belonged to pirates," Obi-Wan said as he climbed into the cockpit of the fighter. It wouldn't be as effective as a Jedi ship, but it would at least let him aid in the fight. "Did you steal from everyone before you left to find us?"

"Should I… not have?" Genuine confusion tinged Hondo's words, and he tipped his head to one side.

"Watch for openings and take back your ships and your men. We'll do what we can to help," Obi-Wan said.

He sealed the cockpit before Hondo could offer a reply, fired the engines, and launched from the relative safety of the hangar into the fray.


	16. Into the Fray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hohoho! Have another chapter as a Merry Christmas from me. Thanks for reading, and please enjoy~

Anakin rocked his starfighter back and forth to avoid a hail of laser bolts that fired on him the moment he exited Hondo's vessel. He retaliated with a string of blaster shots that blew two vulture droids apart, and he did a barrel roll to avoid a torpedo that slithered through the resulting explosions.

For fear the torpedo would somehow find its way to Hondo's vessel, Anakin looped around and blasted it.

Republic forces, Separatists, and pirates pounded on each other, and it took several long moments for Anakin to make any sense of the chaos. It looked like most of the pirates, in their decrepit starfighters, had decided to ally themselves with the Republic.

Though it appeared the Republic wouldn't offer much assistance. One Republic flagship lay in the center of the clash, the hull fractured in various places and burdened with several Separatist boarding crafts. The pirates faired about as well, most of their larger ships overrun by Separatists. More and more vulture droids swarmed them.

On the other side of the battlefield, two Separatist flagships flanked a Droid Control Ship that unleashed another wave of droids into the fight. They crippled one of the pirate ships until the entire vessel collapsed in on itself and imploded.

Anakin's little starfighter wouldn't put up much resistance with the Republic and pirate vessels already overwhelmed. But from the looks of things, droids manned most of the enemy fighters, which meant a lethal blow on their control ships might turn the tides.

"We're going in, Artoo," Anakin said.

R2 whistled at him, an excited barrage of beeps, and Anakin cut straight through the battlefield. He dove under enemy fighters to skirt their fields of vision and swiveled between perplexed pirates to shake several vulture droids off his tail.

A particularly scrappy starfighter whizzed past his head and slammed into one of the boarding tunnels connected to the Republic ship. The starfighter streaked away, unharmed, but a plume of droids exploded out of the tunnel and scattered into space. The fighter definitely looked like a Separatist ship, though a manned one, and rare on that battlefield. A familiar touch of the Force reached him through that starfighter: Obi-Wan.

Of course Hondo had stolen another ship.

Obi-Wan seemed to have matters well in hand as he zigzagged and fired on anything and everything threatening the Republic vessel.

Anakin zipped through the battlefield until he broke into open space on the other side. A wide expanse stood between him and the Separatist flagships, and he pushed his ship hard to close the gap. A few straggling droid vessels fired on him, but he made quick work of them before hurtling down beneath the flagships. Laser cannons fired on him from the vessels, but he maintained enough distance to not get hit.

They wouldn't worry about one stray fighter, not against the flagships. As far as they knew, he was harmless to them. Even if he launched his entire ship into one of those massive vessels, he'd splatter himself on a shield and have no detrimental effects.

Anakin had other plans. He killed his engines and set his starfighter into a tired drift near the engines of one of the flagships, out of sight and out of mind.

R2 beeped at him in apparent confusion, but Anakin maintained his focus on the large crafts above. Watching, waiting for vulture droids or laser fire. As expected and as he hoped, a single starfighter meant nothing to them.

"Keep an eye out, Artoo," Anakin said.

He scanned the external workings of the three vessels before closing his eyes and sinking into a familiar state of meditation, the type in which he lost himself whenever he worked on droids or ships. Whenever he worked together countless little pieces and formed them into something whole and complete. The only type of meditation at which he ever excelled.

He turned his focus on the Control Ship stationed above him. He visualized the thick hull and all the intricate parts that ran between the walls. Same as he'd done in his prison cell at the Temple, on Tatooine, and at the HoloNet Station, he crawled through the wires. He melted through the casings to the thread of wires firing energy from power cores throughout the whole of the ship.

R2 whistled, and it echoed in his mind, but far away. Drowned under the whir of electrical currents and pure, raw power.

Anakin followed the wires inward until he found himself entangled in dozens of currents firing rapid charges of energy. He traversed the wires towards the source of the pulses, towards the heart of the machine. The electricity, the surges of energy, burned through him and blurred his thoughts, but he only needed to push a little further. A little deeper.

A barrage of commands through the wires tingled in the back of his mind. He couldn't understand them. Commands to droids, commands to destroy his allies. Anakin dug at those cables and the circuitry of the computer they powered, and gave a fierce yank with the Force. Nothing happened at first, so he pulled harder. Several of the cords tore away. Eventually, the entire circuit board ripped away from its casing.

Entwined as he was with the machine, a jolt of pain ran through him when he tore it apart. Sparks sizzled at his mind but felt like it burned at his flesh. Heat surged through the frayed wires and melted intricate parts. Overwhelming warmth scorched Anakin.

Like the flames of Mustafar. The vision pried into his concentration. Flames lapped at his body.

Somewhere far away, R2 screamed a warning.

Anakin pushed on anyway and tore at another circuit board, then another bundle of cords. He lunged through one bundle of wires to the next, from one computer to the next, and shredded their main components with only the Force. Fire—it melted away his hair and his flesh, burned through his throat and his lungs.

His stomach dropped, and black visions of Darth Vader coiled around his thoughts. He couldn't retreat. Couldn't find his body again. He lurched from the wires, but they fastened around his arms and legs, trapped him in the increasing blaze. Smoke suffocated his lungs.

Raspy breath in. Raspy breath out. Darth Vader's breathing.

Anakin thrashed against the pull on his mind that refused to let him go. R2 screamed again, and an explosion echoed his warning. Anakin gave a violent push with the Force and hurled back into his body. The ferocity of the jolt tore the air from his lungs, and pain hammered through his head from the efforts. The warning lights flashing across the Droid Control Ship made everything worth it. A small explosion ignited from the ship.

Then a torpedo hit his wing, and R2 screamed at him again.

"Sorry, buddy," Anakin said. His voice cracked through his mask, and he barely heard himself. He fired up the engines. "Let's get out of here."

Several man-powered starfighters shot from the nearby flagships and scoped out his position. Many more launched onto the battlefield in an effort to replace the droids that failed. Overhead, the Control Ship rocked with another blast, and a chain of miniature explosions spread from the central sphere.

Anakin turned his ship, but another torpedo struck as another starfighter locked on his location. Laser cannons fired on him, but Anakin ducked his vessel to avoid—only to find three more enemy starfighters coming from the rear.

"Not good," he said.

He whipped his starfighter in a loop to shoot down two of the oncoming vessels, but he missed the others. His mind and his hands didn't seem to want to work together, his thoughts still tangled in the wires. As though he'd left a part of himself up there, never to be retrieved again.

Another torpedo flashed towards him, and Anakin veered to steer the blow away from R2 but took the hit in the engine instead. He chased another one of the starfighters and shot it down, but the controls lurched under his hands. At that point, he wasn't sure if the ship fought him or if his own body and thoughts resisted him. Several more enemies locked on his location. Two opened fire. Anakin wheeled his ship out of the way, only to meet another enemy head on.

The scrappy starfighter zipped out of the flames of the crumbling Droid Control Ship and fired on the enemy starfighters. Obi-Wan. R2's head swiveled around, and he beeped with delight at the arrival.

Anakin took advantage of the opening Obi-Wan provided and flipped, plummeting on the lingering enemy vessels. He fired and blasted through them as Obi-Wan cleared the way above him. Anakin did the smartest thing he could think to do, given the muddled state of his mind, and he trailed behind Obi-Wan towards the battlefield.

He was glad he didn't have communications open with Obi-Wan, because he was confident he'd get a lecture for taking a leisure nap on the battlefield while blowing a ship up with his mind.

At least it had been effective. The droid vessels had all frozen on the battlefield and been destroyed. Some of the pirates, including Hondo, took advantage of the mess and picked at the debris while the Republic dealt with the lingering Separatists. Anakin spun to check the status of the enemy flagships.

More vessels launched from the flagships, and they still had the Republic outnumbered. Especially if the pirates fled, which they'd likely do now that they had some breathing room.

To Anakin's surprise, the swarm of oncoming enemy fighters spun and retreated to their ships. The flagships and what remained of the Droid Control Ship turned in unison and fled in streaks of silver, leaving a few dejected Separatists in fighters chasing after them.

"What just happened…?" Anakin muttered.

Anakin turned his vessel and found two new Republic flagships and countless Republic starfighters closing in on their position. Obi-Wan dropped low enough to catch Anakin's eye, a sure signal that he wanted Anakin to follow him, and set off at a slow pace towards one of the approaching flagships. Slow, because Anakin's sickly starfighter couldn't do much more than that. He'd taken quite a bit of damage while he lollygagged in those wires.

He puttered his starfighter into the hangar of the Republic vessel where Obi-Wan led him. An assortment of ships had arrived ahead of them, and countless people gathered inside, some rushing about, others at work on the ships, some chatting. Even some pirates had shown up. Probably Hondo looking for a payout.

Anakin landed near Obi-Wan but struggled to press the right switch to open the cockpit and struggled more to lift himself out of it. R2 offered an emphatic whistle as Anakin crawled out of the cockpit and nearly planted face-first on the durasteel floor. He managed to land on one knee and both hands, though, and rose fast enough that few probably noticed. R2 followed him and whistled again, solemn.

His nose ran. Blood tickled down the back of his throat and forced him to swallow several times, which only served to sour his stomach. Through the haze of his vision, he caught Obi-Wan frowning at him before joining the others.

"Well met, Cody," Obi-Wan said, shaking the hand of his clone commander. "It's good to see you."

"I'm just glad we made it in time, sir," Cody replied.

"But how did you…" Obi-Wan frowned and folded his arms across his chest. "Let me guess. You intercepted my message." When Cody offered only the slightest tilt of his helmeted head, Obi-Wan let out an exasperated sigh and glared at the others. "Is there anyone who didn't intercept our transmission?"

"I received it." Master Unduli said, quietly and without expression, as she stepped out of the crowd. "That is why I came."

"Commander Rex also recently contacted us asking if you'd been retrieved yet…" Master Secura added.

"Of course he did."

"I don't think the Hutts intercepted it," Hondo offered from a nearby huddle of pirates. One of his men leaned over and whispered into his ear. The Weequay pirate's eyes widened, and then he smiled and waved a hand in good cheer. "Nevermind. They're on their way. Seems my men got the jump on them."

"Goodbye, Hondo," Obi-Wan said with little enthusiasm. He and the other Jedi Masters stared at the gaggle of pirates.

"All right, I'll just be taking my ship." Hondo veered towards the starfighter Anakin had just vacated.

" _Goodbye, Hondo_." Obi-Wan's tone went hard.

"Very good then," Hondo said. He shuffled away from the Jedi starfighter and scurried with his men towards their ship at the far end of the hangar bay. "You owe me, Kenobi. Offer still stands, Skywalker."

Anakin squinted through the blurry film over his eyes. The Jedi Masters and clone troopers resumed their dialogue, and at exactly the same moment, Hondo flapped a hand at several of his men. They dashed to the scrappy Separatist starfighter Obi-Wan had flown while Hondo and the rest made a break for their ship. A tiny smile tugged at Anakin's lips at the pirates' efforts, and he returned his focus to the discussions. Hondo could have that piece of junk if he wanted it.

"We need to get moving," Master Secura said over the roar of ship engines as Hondo departed from the hangar. "In case you weren't informed, the Death Star—"

"We've heard. We can catch up on the way." Obi-Wan waved the others forward, and the group scattered, some towards the bridge, others back to their own ships.

Anakin followed, but his steps slowed when Obi-Wan waited for him. Arms crossed. Scowl on his face. He tipped from side to side, but maybe that was Anakin's vision going cross. Anakin shook his head, but it only amplified the ringing in his ears and sent pain hammering through his temples.

"You need to go to medbay," Obi-Wan said, a ferocity to his tone he hadn't taken with Anakin in a long time.

"I'm fine." Anakin gave Obi-Wan a wide berth and pursued the others. "I need to keep moving."

"Anakin, you can't even walk straight."

Anakin slowed. Everything swayed from side to side, but he'd thought it only from his watery vision combined with the lenses of his mask. He focused on the ground, carefully placing one foot in front of the other, in order to improve his stride. The efforts only served to make him dizzier, and he wobbled.

"I'm fine—"

"You are not fine. You need to rest. If you keep pushing yourself like this—"

"I said I'm fine." Anakin raised his voice and turned on his heel to face Obi-Wan, but he tipped in the process and stumbled backwards. Obi-Wan reached for him, but Anakin caught himself and braced his feet in a wide stance. "Stop doing this. Stop worrying. Alderaan is going to be destroyed." And Anakin was to blame. "I'm not going to sit by and do nothing."

Anakin whirled around and made for the door, but the hangar bay tipped over his head. He stepped forward, but his foot missed the ground.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan's voice distorted.

Visions flooded his mind again of Darth Vader, Bail and Leia's deaths, and the impending destruction of Alderaan. The screams of the people reverberated through his mind until it became a deafening roar that drowned his senses. The sound shook his vision and sent tremors through his muscles and bones.

The durasteel floor raced up to meet Anakin. His last thought before the world went dismally dark: he was really sick of falling.


	17. The Death Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and supporting this story in all the ways that you do~ Have a great one!!

Hyperspace streaked past in silence. Obi-Wan stood near the front of the bridge along with his fellow Jedi and several clone troopers, but most of the conversations had died as they neared their destination. As they approached the Death Star and Alderaan's imminent demise. Everyone felt the gravity of the situation, but Obi-Wan significantly more-so.

He believed what Anakin said. Alderaan would be destroyed, and Bail and Leia would die. The weight was oppressive, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. The future was not certain, and visions could be wrong or misinterpreted.

Anakin was certainly in no condition to think rationally. So much like when he had nightmarish visions of Padmé's death and subsequently surrendered to Sidious to save her, Anakin had fallen into a vicious downward spiral of terror where he couldn't think straight.

On one hand, Obi-Wan knew Anakin needed to learn to hold less tightly to his attachments, to stop his mind from reaching such a breaking point. On the other hand, Anakin didn't go out of his way to conjure up visions of Alderaan's destruction—the Force saw fit to give him that, whether because of his attachments or not. Anakin saw, and so he felt. And, unfortunately, he didn't know how to manage what he felt. That was one of Obi-Wan's failings.

The door to the bridge slid open. R2's excited beeps and whistles drew Obi-Wan's attention. Anakin, wearing the mask of Darth Vader, entered the room. To say he walked was an overstatement—he staggered like a man who'd had too much to drink. Anakin first set a hand on R2 for support and then grabbed the nearest railing.

Several eyes shot in his direction.

Obi-Wan broke from the other Jedi and ascended the stairs in a few bounds to reach Anakin in case he collapsed. The mask of Darth Vader didn't turn in his direction as he approached.

"You should be in medbay," Obi-Wan said. He no longer bothered to soften his words. Anakin was literally and intentionally destroying himself. Obi-Wan's tolerance had reached its limit. "Anakin, you collapsed. You were bleeding again. If you continue to push yourself—"

"I'm fine," Anakin said in the voice of Darth Vader. Cold. Calculated. Unconcerned.

"You are not fine."

Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin's elbow and forced his former Padawan to turn. Anakin's body moved, but not his head. He kept his face towards the viewport, towards the streaks of hyperspace that would soon give way to Alderaan and the Death Star.

"Anakin, you are going to get yourself killed." Obi-Wan pulled harder. Anakin tottered off balance, but it worked. He faced Obi-Wan. "You are not capable of fighting as you are."

"I don't have a choice."

"Yes, you do."

"I have to make this right."

Anakin raised his voice. Coming from the mask of Vader, it sounded like a hateful roar. It drew the attention of many others, but they hastily looked away and pretended not to hear. Obi-Wan heard in the voice what they probably didn't: the suffering, the agony, the weight of responsibility. Anakin continued to blame himself.

"Can we go elsewhere to talk?" Obi-Wan asked, knowing full well every nearby officer could hear them. Anakin wouldn't say anything without some modicum of privacy.

"No, because I already know what you're going to say." Anakin ripped his arm out of Obi-Wan's hand and grappled at the railing for balance. He leaned his full weight against it, and his entire body sagged. "I need to do this."

An unspoken undercurrent touched his words, but Obi-Wan heard it loud and clear: I need to do this, and what happens to me in the process doesn't matter.

"Anakin."

Obi-Wan took Anakin's elbow again, holding fiercely. The mere pressure of his grip turned Anakin to face him. Obi-Wan's tone dropped further, quiet and firm. He looked through the eyes of Vader on the off chance he would catch a glimpse of Anakin underneath. He did not.

"Anakin, please. Stop."

Anakin said nothing, and Obi-Wan thought to insist him off the bridge and to a room where they could speak. Where he could try, in his faltering way, to reach his former Padawan before it was too late. But a wave of darkness rolled over them, thick and filled with death and suffering, and both faced the viewport as the ship came out of hyperspace.

The Death Star waited for them on the other side. It stood between them and Alderaan. It stood between them and the planet they needed to save. Hundreds of fighters swam around the massive weapon and fired on it, igniting explosions across its surface, but the Death Star fired back from hundreds of weapons built into its outer shell. The Death Star moved forward, unhindered.

The dark side was a living thing in the space around them. It crawled across Obi-Wan's skin and sent a barrage of tremors through him.

Sidious was there.

A holoprojection of Master Plo appeared from a communicator on the bridge. His head tipped from side to side as he steered his fighter. Constant explosions echoed behind him.

_"Glad to see you made it. Just in time,"_ he said.

"What's the current status?" Master Secura asked.

_"Not good."_ Master Plo grunted as a loud blast roared over his voice. _"We're having difficulty getting inside, and we can't stop its forward progression. Its shields are something extraordinary, and the weaponry certainly isn't lacking."_

Obi-Wan guided Anakin back to the rail so he had something to support him. Anakin trembled violently and hunched forward.

"The superlaser—is it operational?" Obi-Wan asked, raising his voice so his words would reach the communicator and Plo on the other end. "It took significant damage right before coming here."

Obi-Wan knew he was being grossly optimistic, but he had to ask. If Anakin had visions about the laser firing, he had no doubt Sidious had already planned ahead and had it repaired. Enough time had elapsed to restore the surface damage they had caused.

_"The Eye is beat up but appears to have all necessary pieces intact, unfortunately,"_ Master Plo said, and Obi-Wan's shoulders sank. _"We've sent several scouts up close to make certain. We are almost out of time."_

"We're on our way," Master Unduli said. She only had the chance to turn a foot before Master Plo spoke again and halted her.

_"Be cautious where you strike. Sidious sent a message from on board."_ Master Plo dipped his head under another unseen explosion that reverberated through the transmission. His voice tensed. _"It seems he has taken Senator Bail Organa and his wife hostage."_

"What? How?" Master Secura shook her head. "The Death Star barely arrived ahead of us."

_"Senator Organa received word of potential danger and intended to seek aid from the Order and the Senate. His ship was intercepted and overtaken."_

If Bail and Queen Organa were on board, Leia would be as well. Bail had probably thought Coruscant would be the safest place for Leia given Sidious' intentions. Of course, he would have been right if not for Sidious being one step ahead of him. Sidious seemed to be one step ahead of them at every point in this battle, same as he was throughout the entire war. No, same as he had been since his rise to Chancellor.

Obi-Wan dared a glance at Anakin. His former Padawan shook from head to toe. He kept one hand firmly locked on the railing but raised the other to his head.

"We'll be out shortly, Master Plo," Master Secura said. When he nodded and his image dissolved, she barked at those on the bridge. "Everyone, move. This isn't a battle we can afford to lose. A skeleton crew can stay on ship, but I need everyone else out there fighting to stop that monstrosity. Whatever it takes!"

Several cries of agreement erupted from the clone troopers on the bridge, and they raced up the stairs and through the door to join the fight. Cody nodded as he passed, and Obi-Wan returned the gesture. Masters Unduli and Secura offered him a cursory glance before exiting. Two clone troopers remained on the bridge, and one gave the command to mobilize the rest of the troopers on the ship.

Anakin peeled himself off the railing and stumbled to the door, but Obi-Wan caught his arm and forced him backwards and towards a chair.

"Not you," he said. "You will stay here."

"Sidious is on the Death Star." Anakin tried to break Obi-Wan's grip, but Obi-Wan overpowered him with ease. Anakin had no strength left in him. "Leia is there. You know she is. I have to do something."

"You haven't the strength to do anything right now, Anakin. You can barely stand. You'll never be able to fight."

"It's my responsibility—"

"I'm not arguing with you, and this is not a request." Obi-Wan grabbed both of Anakin's arms and pressed him back into the nearest seat on the bridge. "For once in your life, Anakin, do as I say."

Anakin flopped into the seat and stared through that hideous mask, but he held his tongue. Another shiver swept over him, and he bowed and placed both hands on his helmeted head.

"Stay here." Obi-Wan turned on the two troopers still on board. "Don't let him leave." For good measure, he turned to R2 as well. "Artoo, you are not to let him leave this ship. Do you understand?"

The clones nodded, and the astromech droid offered a whistle of agreement.

"Stay," Obi-Wan said to Anakin one last time and with a finger pointed at him for emphasis.

Obi-Wan spun and marched out the door after the others. He made it to the hangar after most of the others had already departed. Several Jedi starfighters remained in the hangar regardless, and he took it as a poor sign. They no longer had enough men to fill the ships.

He claimed one of the starfighters, put on his headset, and ejected from the hangar. He'd barely made it into the fight before excited voices buzzed into his earpiece.

_"We've almost breached a hangar!"_ Master Plo shouted over the comlink. _"Sending coordinates. All available units, make haste."_

_"On my way,"_ Master Unduli replied.

Several Republic flagships closed in on the Death Star, but wave after wave of droid fighters barred most from nearing the enormous weapon.

Obi-Wan received the coordinates and swept around the Death Star, dodging the skirmishes, until he rounded to the other side. Strings of fighters charged at a shielded hangar and fired on it. After the first row passed, a second and third followed, each shooting a chain of laser bolts upon the shield's generators. Most of the weaponry around the hangar had been pummeled off the Death Star, leaving deep scars in its surface like craters on a moon.

Errant cannon fire slammed into one of the fighters at the tail end of the fourth string to pass. The fighter spun in a haze of smoke and pelted the shield over the hangar. Unintentional though it may have been, the shield flickered upon impact.

Obi-Wan swooped ahead of the fifth chain of fighters and launched an attack on incoming vulture droids to shield the men at work on the hangar. He fired down several enemy fighters ahead of him and then flipped to snipe one trying to sneak up on him. Yet another wave of fighters struck at the hangar to no effect, and the enemy closed in, realizing how close they were to breaching their defenses.

A dozen vulture droids hurled at Obi-Wan, seemingly aiming to smash him down with brute force, but as he swung around and returned fire on the first few, three familiar starfighters whistled past and blew through the others. Cody, Bly, and Secura.

Another string of fighters pounded on the shield—this wave led by Master Plo. The shield flickered, and the generators erupted with sparks and smoke. The barrier failed, and the hangar opened.

_"Move! Move!"_ a clone trooper shouted over the intercom, but everyone in the area had already taken a dive towards the opening.

The secondary security systems of the hangar activated, and the hangar bay doors, thick and impenetrable, started to slide shut. Obi-Wan wormed out of a flock of vulture droids and nosedived towards the hangar. Several starfighters joined him in torpedoing through the doors an instant before they slammed shut.

A small army of droids waited for them in the hangar. The starfighters, moving too fast for a proper landing, plowed through the droids and decimated a vast majority of them. The nose of Obi-Wan's ship shoveled several dozen droids over the transparisteel of his cockpit. When his craft finally came to a stop, a cloud of smoke and flames swirled around him.

Obi-Wan lunged from the cockpit with his lightsaber flashing. Blaster fire scattered throughout the hangar as droids closed in on the few Jedi and the many clone troopers who had made it through. Obi-Wan caught sight of Masters Plo, Unduli, and Secura. Cody wasn't far behind, matching blaster shot for blaster shot. Briefly, Obi-Wan thought he saw Wolffe and Bly among the many clone troopers.

Obi-Wan and the other Jedi pushed with the Force to throw the droids off balance and allow the clone troopers to blast through them. They had to keep moving. Time was not on their side.

Wave after wave of droids met them in the corridors leading through the Death Star. Only a strong united front of Jedi, flanked and followed by exceptional troopers, allowed them rapid progression. No one held back. Everyone was fully aware of what was at stake if they lost.

A line of destroyers barred their entrance to the bridge, but a few expertly thrown EMPs cut through their defenses and allowed Obi-Wan and his Jedi comrades to push through. Nothing of immediate danger stood in their way, so the Jedi and troopers entered the bridge and fanned out.

Several clone troopers waited inside, armed and aiming their blasters straight at the door and those who had just entered. More traitors to the Separatist cause. Behind the line of Separatist troopers waited a small unit of battle droids. Bail, his wife, and their entourage crouched in the far corner of the bridge, held at blasterpoint by droids and troopers. Leia cried pitifully in Bail's arms.

On the far side of the bridge, in front of the viewport that displayed Alderaan beyond a raging battlefield, Sidious stood with a feral grin twisted on his once kindly face.

"Only four Jedi?" the Sith Lord asked with a pleasant ring. "You should know that didn't end very well in the future."

Obi-Wan found Masters Plo, Unduli, and Secura dividing up across the room. They'd take the droids and troopers first and then focus on Sidious together.

Or at least, that's how it should have happened.

Sidious swept a hand into the air, and every blaster ripped out of the hands of their clone troopers. The Sith Lord turned his wrist, and the blasters spun in the air and aimed back at their original owners. He closed his fingers to his palm. The blasters rained bolts down on them. Friendly clones dropped under the barrage while others armed themselves with vibroblades or whatever they could find. Droids and enemy troopers opened fire.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and the Jedi swung their lightsabers through droids and enemy troopers while deflecting what bolts they could back on their foes. The bridge filled with smoke, and computers popped and fizzled as stray weapons and shots struck them.

The hostages dropped to the floor and covered their heads, still held to their position by a ring of enemy droids and troopers.

Obi-Wan swung through several droids and found himself at an in-between space, the droids focused on his allies behind him, Sidious ahead of him. Sidious stood with his hands lightly folded in front of him, a leisure smile on his lips. While people died and everything fell apart around him. If Sidious could be dealt with, they'd have a far better chance at stopping everything sooner—the war, the devastation, the suffering. A far better chance at stopping Anakin from destroying himself.

As if sensing his thoughts, Sidious grinned wider, his lips curling over his teeth.

Obi-Wan dove at Sidious and unleashed a flurry of ferocious swings on the Sith Lord. Sidious remained steady until the last moment, and then his red lightsaber flashed and he parried the strikes without losing ground. Obi-Wan pushed with the Force to try to unbalance Sidious, but Sidious matched with his own Force push.

"I have been waiting a long time for this, Kenobi," Sidious said.

Obi-Wan broke away from his Force push and pivoted, swinging his lightsaber from the side. Sidious matched his movements, one strike after another. Obi-Wan increased the power behind his swings to try to throw Sidious off balance, but Sidious merely answered with more power.

Obi-Wan hammered his blade down over Sidious' head, but the Sith Lord met his blade with an equally powerful upward stroke. Their feet locked in a standstill. Sidious leaned forward until his face was a mere hairbreadth from the blades, but no matter how hard Obi-Wan pushed, he could not reach him.

"It troubles you, doesn't it? Because you know as I do that the future is inevitable," he said, in a silky smooth voice. One he'd probably used on Anakin time and time again. "I will take him from you. Today, Anakin Skywalker will fall, and Darth Vader will rise. And there is nothing you can do to stop it."

Heat stirred in Obi-Wan's stomach and rose into his chest. Dangerous anger that would dampen his senses and consume his logic, and so he breathed it out. It insisted on returning. Anger towards the man who had orchestrated a war that killed millions. Anger towards the man who had planted deceptions in his Padawan's mind for over a decade and undermined everything Obi-Wan tried to teach him, undermined Anakin's confidence in himself and in others, and undermined Anakin's perceptions of right and wrong, of compassion and justice.

Anger at himself for never noticing.

Obi-Wan kicked at Sidious to put distance between them, but Sidious predicted his action and jumped back to avoid the blow. Both tried to Force push the other, but again they wound up at a standstill. Sidious restrained Obi-Wan with one hand and a push from the Force, and he raised his other hand with his fingers stretched towards the ceiling.

Debris throughout the bridge rose into the air at Sidious' unspoken command. Blasters, droid limbs, and discarded vibroblades rose, spun in the air, and hurled upon those fighting behind Obi-Wan. Jedi and clone troopers cried out in surprise as objects pummeled them. The momentary surprise gave droids and enemy forces a clean opening, and they fired on Obi-Wan's distracted allies. Clone troopers dropped, Masters Plo and Unduli fell from blaster fire, and Master Secura repelled blaster shots only to take a stray droid body to her head.

Obi-Wan backpedaled from Sidious and used the Force to fling away the droids and enemy troopers pounding his allies, but Sidious used the opening to catch him at the throat in a Force choke. Sidious hoisted Obi-Wan off his feet and dangled him off the ground. Obi-Wan's throat crushed inward, and the lack of oxygen darkened his vision.

"I would like you to stick around," Sidious said with the same unhinged grin. "You should be here for the grand finale."

Sidious flicked his fingers, and Obi-Wan slammed into a wall. He slid to the floor and popped to one knee, reaching with his hand and with the Force for his lightsaber that had fallen, but Sidious flapped his hand downwards, and a platform above Obi-Wan snapped and dropped over him. Obi-Wan dove to the side, only to have an entire computer console ripped out of the floor and thrown at him. It crushed his legs and stomach, pinning him in place.

Obi-Wan tried to wriggle free, but excruciating pain shot up his spine. He tried to use the Force to move the debris, but pain and anger clouded his mind. So did the heavy shroud of the dark side.

"The grand finale," Sidious said, and he disengaged his lightsaber and returned it to his belt under his cloak. He faced the viewport and loosely folded his hands behind his back. "It will be spectacular."

Through the viewport, Alderaan loomed. Drawing nearer.

Obi-Wan had a very bad feeling about this.


	18. A Fated Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading, all! Please continue to enjoy~

For what felt like hours, Anakin sat in the seat where Obi-Wan had set him. He stared at the door leading out of the bridge but saw nothing, listened to the chatter of the few remaining troopers but heard nothing.

All he truly saw and heard were the nightmares in his mind of a future that couldn't be changed. Leia's desperate cries. The blast that killed her. The screams of the people on Alderaan as it blew apart. Bail running at him, horrified and shouting.

Same as he had when he'd had visions of Padmé's death, Anakin felt utterly hopeless and completely alone. He knew so much and could do so little. He had been told for so long to let go of what he feared to lose, but Leia wasn't even his to lose anymore. Yet he loved her. Alderaan wasn't his—and yet he cared. How could he let it go any more than he could let go of the slaves he knew suffered throughout the galaxy? He felt their pain, so how could he ignore it?

That was his other greatest failing: he didn't know how to let go. It was why he could never be a Jedi. Why he had failed so often and so hard.

But Anakin couldn't bring himself to do nothing. Even though he hated it, hated himself for it, he couldn't help himself. Some compulsion moved him. Before he realized he was doing it, he rose and turned to look out the viewport.

The Death Star was within range of Alderaan, a silver moon amidst a maelstrom of blaster fire and explosions. The Republic and Separatists waged war all around it. Most of the Republic vessels continued to hammer at various hangar bay shields and tried to break through the Death Star's defenses, seemingly with minimal luck. Sidious would have planned better to make his weapon impenetrable. It would take an endless stream of fire to create even a brief opening on one of the hangars. Or it would take a really hard hit to disable one of the power cores completely.

Anakin slipped down the steps, moving without thinking, and tapped at one of the consoles.

"Hey!" One of the remaining troopers approached but stopped at a slight distance. "You don't have authorization to—"

Anakin held up a hand to stop him. The man halted and frowned, perhaps expecting a Force choke or something sinister, but Anakin dropped his hand and went back to work.

"Artoo, run a scan and let me know how many people are still on this ship," Anakin said.

He pulled up reports from the hangar bay and from the escape pods. Half a dozen fighters and all escape pods remained functional and active. R2 ran his analysis from his usual place tucked in a back corner before rolling to Anakin and presenting his data in the form of a holo-chart above his dome head. Four people remained on the ship. It sat stationary, out of sight and mind, and only had enough people to prepare for immediate evacuation.

"Excuse me, but you do not belong here," said the other trooper, more irritated than the first. Anakin didn't recognize either, aside from them wearing the same face as all their brothers. "I must ask that you return to your seat and—"

"Get off the ship," Anakin said.

One of the troopers grabbed his blaster from its holster at his side, but Anakin caught the weapon with the Force, raised it, and crumpled it into a harmless ball of metal and screws. He tossed it across the bridge. When the other trooper snatched his weapon, Anakin did the same with that one. For good measure, Anakin reached with the Force, ripped a computer console out of the floor, and hurled it into another console—setting both ablaze and setting off a litany of alarms.

"This ship is going to crash. Evacuate immediately." Anakin turned away from the troopers and back to the controls. He opened communications with the rest of the ship. "This vessel is failing, and destruction is imminent. Report to the hangar bay or to an escape pod and evacuate immediately. I repeat, evacuate immediately." When neither of the men behind him moved, Anakin whirled on them and gave them a not-so-gentle nudge with the Force. Through the mask, he knew his voice sounded grotesque and cruel. "Move!"

When that didn't set either of the men into motion, Anakin reached out a hand on either side of him and clasped at the walls. He pulled, and the entire framework of the walls collapsed inward and shot sparks from stripped wires. Both officers stepped back, towards the exit. Hesitation flared through their eyes, for they'd been given orders, and good soldiers followed orders.

"Get off the ship," Anakin repeated, and he dropped his tone dangerously low. "Now."

"Evacuate immediately," one of the officers said into his comlink. He and his comrade turned to run.

Anakin glanced at R2, who whistled at him in confusion and let out a frustrated string of beeps.

"We have to take care of this, Artoo. I have to do this."

He returned his focus to the controls and scanned for the current coordinates of the Death Star. Not just any coordinates—he focused on where the reactor core should sit. If his memory served him well, it would be too deep to penetrate, but any damage to the surrounding areas would lead to system failures throughout the vessel. Any and all shield generators powered in that region would be crippled. If hit just right, at least. He focused with the Force to ensure no life forces existed in that portion of the Death Star. Most, he found, clustered on the other side of the station.

"Artoo, let me know when all officers are off this ship," Anakin said, and he set the coordinates but didn't activate.

He'd done this trick before, and timing would be everything. In the meantime, he diverted all life support and unnecessary power to the laser cannons of the ship. He'd take one, coordinated strike at the Death Star and hope it was enough power to get through the weapon's shields.

After he'd completed his adjustments, R2 beeped and projected a display revealing that four of the six starfighters had left the hangar and that the officers had, indeed, abandoned ship. He'd definitely get an earful from Obi-Wan about this later. If he survived.

"Get to the hangar, Artoo. Find a starfighter and have it ready to go."

R2 swiveled its head around, back and forth, and beeped in dismissal.

"Either that or we die." Anakin shrugged.

R2 offered a few shrill beeps in retort but swung around and evacuated as Anakin requested. Seems the droid had been spending too much time with Obi-Wan.

Anakin planned the time it would take to evacuate to the hangar and the time it would take to eject from the ship. He mapped out his trek and potential hang-ups in the space between the ship and the Death Star. Any openings weren't guaranteed to last for long. He overrode manual settings and set the ship to leap to hyperspace after the allotted time and locked the cannons to firing.

He ran.

Anakin dashed to the hangar and found R2 had pulled out a starfighter and aimed it towards the exit, as requested.

"Let's get moving, Artoo!"

Anakin flew into the cockpit and had barely closed the hatch before they rolled to the hangar exit. He fired up the engines at full power, shot into space, and swerved towards the Death Star and the point of impact he'd designated.

"Transmit a message, Artoo. Tell all Republic fighters to steer clear of the coordinates I'm entering. Tell them to avoid from here to there, but to stay close. We're going in."

Anakin whirled beneath the ship's trajectory, and most of the nearby Republic fighters either went up or down. Anakin remained low but raced towards the point of impact, avoiding contact when he could but fired on enemy fighters whenever they engaged. His mind wasn't in the fight. Instead, he scanned the Death Star for the nearest hangar bays and entry points. Only two hangar bays existed in that area, meaning few would be able to enter behind him before backup generators locked down all the doors. But it had to be enough.

He counted down in his mind, and at the precise moment he anticipated, the abandoned ship twisted into a curious streak of silver that stretched from its former position all the way to the Death Star. The ship materialized in a flash of blue from cannon fire as it exploded into the Death Star's outer skin. It crushed the framework of the Death Star inward and sent a cascade of explosions through the walls of Sidious' monstrous weapon. The ship exploded in a great eruption that stretched far and wide across the surface of the Death Star.

Visible lights flickered throughout the Death Star, and the hangar bay shields failed and the weapons around it died.

Anakin powered his starfighter into the opened hangar and pummeled through bewildered droids as he hit the floor hard and fast. He skidded several meters before coming to a stop, and then he hopped from the cockpit with R2 at his side.

"Stay with the ship, Artoo," Anakin said, not that he thought the ship needed defending but because he thought it might be too dangerous where he was going. Everything around Anakin would be at risk.

R2 let out a sad, tired whistle, beeped angrily, and wheeled back to the starfighter that lay on a pile of destroyed battle droids.

Countless droids poured through the door. Anakin merely caught them with the Force and hurled them against walls or against each other. The few stray blaster bolts that reached him he either dodged or caught with a barrier on his hand. He slammed through the droids that approached and made his way down the corridors where, at least in his memory, the bridge should exist.

The closer he got, the worse the visions in his head throbbed and muddled his senses. He assumed that meant he was going in the right direction. When he'd almost reached the bridge, he found corridors blackened with blaster fire and countless fallen droids shot down or sliced through with lightsaber precision and efficiency.

Anakin had a sensation of hope as he made his way to the control room of the Death Star. The teams who had infiltrated before him left no allied bodies behind. Then the doors to the bridge slid open, and the hope snuffed out.

Bodies of troopers scattered the bridge along with countless demolished droids. Half the room crumbled. Several Jedi Masters lay on the floor and groaned, too wounded to fight. On one side of the room, Obi-Wan writhed under a collapsed platform and console. Blood streaked his head and pooled on the floor beneath him from injuries Anakin couldn't see. On the other side of the room, Leia screamed in the arms of Senator Organa. Several hostages huddled in a corner under heavy guard.

Sidious stood at the viewport, his back turned to Anakin, his hands loosely folded behind his back.

"I have been waiting for you, my boy," Sidious said with the same kind voice he'd always used with Anakin. He turned as he spoke. "I have been waiting for you to return to your rightful place at my side." He waved a hand at the hostages. "I am sorry it had to come to this, but the Jedi have continued to deceive you, and—"

"Shut up," Anakin said.

"A show of good faith, then." Sidious smiled faintly at Anakin with the same familiar smile of the man who had looked after and cared for him for the past decade. The former Chancellor dipped his head at the droids and treacherous troopers holding Bail's group against their will. "Release them."

"Roger, roger," said the droids, and the troopers stepped back and lowered their blasters.

Bail glanced at Anakin, and no one moved. Anakin didn't dare suggest they move. It felt like a trap.

"You're free to leave. I only needed you as bait." Sidious nodded to the troopers. "Take them to the east hangar, as planned. There's a vessel prepared to depart." When no one moved, Sidious' face darkened. "Do not test my patience. It will not last all day. Leave before I change my mind."

Bail rose, Leia bawling in his arms, and the others joined him. Several friendly but disarmed clone troopers had been in the hostage huddle, and they formed a tight circle around Bail and the others. Rex was among them. A droid led them to the door, and Bail passed Anakin a sidelong look of some indecipherable emotion before exiting with the others. Anakin watched them go, ensured they were safely out of range, and returned his attention to Sidious.

Obi-Wan's lightsaber lay on the floor halfway between Sidious and Anakin. Several blasters also lay scattered across the bridge. Potential weapons for Anakin to use.

"Now, Anakin," Sidious said, and he folded his hands in front of him. "I have shown you I mean you no harm. I am not your enemy. All of this…" Again he waved his hands to showcase the destruction of the room and, briefly, Alderaan in the distance. "I do this to show you how important you are to me. I would go to any lengths to reach you."

"Anakin—" Obi-Wan tried to move under the debris, but he grimaced when he moved and collapsed under the weight.

Anakin took a step towards Obi-Wan but halted when quiet rage ignited in Sidious' eyes.

"Choose, Anakin," Sidious said, and some of the sugary sweetness left his voice. Something hard replaced it. Something cold. "Democracy does not work. You have witnessed it. My rule alone brought peace to the galaxy. And now we understand our future weaknesses—we can do better this time. Save more people, free more slaves. The hurting and the oppressed—we can save them. Which is a lot more than the Jedi have ever done, isn't it?" Sidious cast a fierce glare at Obi-Wan. "Just like with your mother…"

"Anakin, don't—"

"Choose, Anakin!" Sidious spoke over Obi-Wan, and hatred curled off his tongue. "Bow to me, and I will never let you hurt like that again. I will never ignore your suffering as the Jedi did. Join me, Anakin."

Anakin looked to Obi-Wan. His former Master struggled to lift his head. The wreckage shifted and he let out a pained groan. On the other side of the room, Masters Plo, Unduli, and Secura writhed on the floor. A few allied troopers struggled to get to their knees.

All people, in another lifetime, that Anakin would destroy by making the wrong choice.

"I will not join you," he said to Sidious. "What you intend to do is wrong."

Sidious' face crumpled. All of the kindly, paternal softness withered, replaced by the cruel Sith Anakin knew well from his visions. Anakin expected Sidious to reach for a lightsaber or to attack Obi-Wan in retaliation. He prepared to snatch Obi-Wan's lightsaber off the ground to resist. Instead of lashing out, Sidious merely pulled back his shoulders and stuck out his chest.

"Very well. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but you continue to leave me no choice." Sidious wore no smile, but a light glinted through his eyes, something gleeful at what he was about to say and do. "I must inform you that I have installed bombs throughout the framework of the eastern corridors and hangar. They're connected to the Death Star itself and won't be detected—until it's too late. Senator Organa will pay for his treachery. I only apologize, Anakin, that dear Leia must die with him."

Anakin choked on a breath, and the visions slammed hard into him. The visions overwhelmed him of Bail and Leia dying in an explosion and being ripped into space. They hammered through his head, strangled the air out of his lungs. Stopped his heart. He leaned forward and clasped at the helmet over his head. It was coming true—it was true.

He spun to pursue the hostages, but a red and black shape flashed through the doorway. Maul rammed into Anakin with his full weight and a push from the Force, sending Anakin over the railway and onto a lower level of the bridge. Anakin flipped to his feet, but Maul stood with lightsaber ignited between Anakin and the exit.

"Activate the superlaser," Sidious told one of the troopers at the controls. No emotion showed on his face. Only cold and calculated cruelty. This was the man Anakin had given everything to serve. A man who cared about nothing and no one. "Destroy Alderaan."

"No!" Anakin lashed out with the Force and tried to hurl the trooper from his seat and away from the controls.

Two powerful grips through the Force caught and restrained him; Maul held his hands and Sidious clutched his throat and hoisted him off the floor. Anakin thrashed and pushed back with the Force, but he couldn't break their combined strength. Neither flinched at his meager efforts.

Maybe Obi-Wan had been right and Anakin was in no condition to fight.

The trooper punched at the computer and activated the superlaser. As before, it took time to draw the power it needed—one crystal ignited at a time.

"Now you must choose, Anakin. Your daughter… or Alderaan, but you cannot save both."

With the flick of his hand, Sidious tossed Anakin to the floor against the communications station. He marched to the door but allowed his troopers, the droids, and Maul to exit ahead of him. He glanced over his shoulder at Anakin, a tight smile on his lips.

"Unless, of course, you submit. The dark side has the power you need. Claim the power that rightfully belongs to you. Only then will you have the power to save everyone."

Sidious waved his hand and dragged down another section of the ceiling over the computer console in charge of the superlaser's operations. Then he swept away in his dark shroud and vanished out the door.


	19. Repercussions of a Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and for all your continued support, friends~ Please continue to enjoy!

Anakin crawled to the console and climbed to his feet. The computer had been completely destroyed, but its command remained. Under the sparks and exposed wires ripped out of the ceiling, a panel displayed the charges as they filled. One after another.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan's voice echoed in Anakin's head, but he sounded far away.

Vision after vision pounded Anakin. An explosion. Bombs. Leia and Bail dead and swept into the vast emptiness of space. Alderaan destroyed, blown apart by the Death Star's superlaser. Here and now. It was a choice—one, but not both. He could stop the Death Star if he tore at its internal workings—if he stripped it from the inside out. But Leia would die. He could save Leia, stop them before they reached the bombs, but he wouldn't be able to save Alderaan.

A choice. The Force had given him a choice. Anakin would choose wrong. He stood, paralyzed. Four charges of the eight crystals. Five.

Leia's cries grew louder. Visions of her death overwhelmed his sight, overwhelmed his thoughts. In twenty years, he'd hold her here as Alderaan blew apart. Crying. She was just a little girl—Padmé's beautiful girl.

He had to save her. He couldn't fail again—not like with his mom, not like with Padmé. He couldn't.

But he couldn't choose darkness this time, either. One or the other. Not both.

Anakin turned and sprinted to the door.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan's voice tripped him up but didn't stop him. "Anakin, don't!"

Leia's scream.

Then another cry. Not Leia, but another little girl. Anakin stopped between the door and the computer. Just one little girl. A child from Alderaan, he didn't know how he knew. Someone else's daughter who would die in the blast. Then another scream, this time a little boy. Someone's son. He heard the scream of a man who loved his wife. Heard the cries of a mother as her children died.

Another cry, and another, and another, a cacophony of voices in his head. He felt their lives as though they were his own. People who lived and breathed, who fought for peace and justice, who hoped and dreamed. He felt it all as though he'd lived their lives and could see through their eyes.

An entire planet of people who loved and were loved. Millions of individual lives worth saving.

Tears streaked Anakin's face as he turned to the computer. As he looked to Alderaan and saw the six crystals charged, only two left to fire. He closed his eyes, raised his hands, and focused into the Force.

"I'm sorry, Leia."

Anakin dove into the deepest workings of the Death Star, using his visions of the future as his guide. He tore down into the crystals and to the parts that would make the superlaser fire, and he pulled with all the strength he had left in him. His mind sank into the wires, into the circuits that made the whole thing tick. But the eighth crystal charged, and the superlaser erupted to life.

Too late.

He couldn't stop it, and so he built with his mind and the Force a barrier against it, a wall that stood between the Death Star and Alderaan. The laser fired in a violent and blinding flash of white, and it struck the barrier with its full, planet-destroying power. Anakin let out a cry as the pain ricocheted off the shield and into his bones, coursing through his veins. He staggered and grabbed the console as the deluge hit.

His barrier cracked, and the laser continued to blaze.

Anakin pushed into the Death Star's internal workings, all while holding up his shield. He couldn't waste time finding the right bundles of cords or circuits. Instead, he grappled at the entire generator core he'd attempted to pummel with his ship. He caught it as if in one hand while he wielded the barrier with the other. He pulled.

He ripped the generator core and all its intricate pieces out of place. Not far, but enough. Wires and significant frameworks snapped under the shifted weight. Lights flickered and went out across the bridge, and the superlaser died. The destruction of the generator core ignited a string of explosions that reverberated through the Death Star.

Leia. Rex. Bail. So many lost.

Anakin released his grip on the core and on the barrier, and he fell to his knees. His heart throbbed in his chest. Words whispered behind him. Not whispering, he assumed, he simply couldn't hear them over the blood in his ears. He stared ahead at Alderaan.

Safe.

He used the console to leverage himself to his feet. Emergency lights blinked throughout the bridge and offered some visibility. Voices carried behind him.

"Shut this thing down," Master Windu ordered. "Destroy that laser and don't let it have any opportunity to reactivate. Go!"

"Sir!" a chorus of troopers answered.

"Are you all right?" Master Windu spoke again.

"Well enough," Obi-Wan said, though his words came out breathless. "The others?"

"They'll survive."

 _Now you understand,_ Qui-Gon said, and a presence like a warm hand settled on Anakin's shoulder.

The voices behind him twisted and distorted, and Anakin's pulse thundered in his ears. The sounds echoed inside his helmet, so he clawed it off his head. Tried to breathe, but even without the mask, he couldn't catch any air. His head hurt. His muscles ached. Pain radiated through him, but somehow it felt far away. Detached. Like he wasn't even in his own skin.

What would they tell Padmé?

"Sir," said a trooper's voice, but the inflection was familiar. "Senator Organa and the others have safely been evacuated onto your ship. Awaiting orders."

Anakin turned. His heart skipped several beats. It may well have stopped.

Rex spoke with Master Windu in the doorway to the bridge as injured Jedi and troopers were hauled out on stretches. Rex, with his helmet at his side, cast Anakin a glance before returning his attention to Master Windu.

Rex had been with Bail, and Rex was alive.

Master Windu answered Rex, but Anakin went deaf to everything but the roar in his ears. He dropped the helmet of Vader and ran. He shoved between Rex and Master Windu and skidded out the door before running down the hall in the direction where they took the injured men, to whatever ship Master Windu brought.

It couldn't be.

He ran, and no one stopped him. He reached a hangar bay where a large Republic vessel had stationed itself. Countless people came and went from the ship. He heard the cry. Not from his nightmares, but in that hangar bay in the present. Anakin slowed, and breathlessness crushed his chest. Hope stirred anyway.

Leia cried.

Anakin passed a heap of crates and stopped.

Bail stood with a group of many others, including a woman. Breha Organa, he assumed. He'd seen this vision. He'd seen this before. Bail held a wailing Leia in his arms.

It couldn't be.

Bail spoke with the people before he turned and noticed Anakin. He stopped, as did the others. Momentary hesitation passed over Bail's face, and he frowned. Anakin couldn't decipher the emotion: anger, fear? Bail passed Leia to Breha.

Anakin had seen this. It was his vision, too. It couldn't be. It was a choice between two futures, but not as Sidious had said.

"We saw what you did, Skywalker," Bail said, but his voice distorted like through water. He frowned at first, and then he offered a relieved smile. "I don't know how you did it, but…"

His voice faded behind the roar in Anakin's ears. The roar--the ringing--it was so loud. Anakin's chest hurt and he still couldn’t breathe. Red tinged the already dismally lit hangar bay. He blinked several times.

Anakin had seen this, too. Everything went red.

Bail's soft expression contorted into yet another frown. And then he was running towards Anakin, but Anakin still didn't know why. He'd seen all this. Bail shouted, but unlike his vision, Anakin heard the words loud and clear.

"Get a medic!"

Bail went sideways.

No. Anakin went sideways. And everything turned red by the blood in his eyes that streamed down his face and wet his cheeks. He coughed on blood. Anakin collapsed into the crates and tried to grab them, but they slipped out of his hands. Bail closed in on him before Anakin hit the floor.

“Get a medic, now!" Bail shouted. The sound wobbled and faded. “He isn't breathing… I can't find a pulse! Get a medic!"

Anakin faded from consciousness.


	20. A Master's Wisdom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and supporting this story, my friends~!

Anakin jumped out of white sand and swung around on his feet. The black sky with red flecks for stars stirred over his head. Glowing white cracks spread through the world, and light seeped through and began to claim the darkness. The nightmares pounded at the far fringes of the world but didn't reach him.

A familiar presence made him turn. Qui-Gon sat on his knees in the sand, hands settled on his thighs, eyes closed. Anakin looked down at his hands—still a child's hands.

Anakin dropped his hands to his sides and frowned at Qui-Gon. Normally, Qui-Gon seemed much farther away, much easier to expel from the world inside Anakin's head. His presence had become steadier. Something had changed.

"Am I dead?" Anakin asked.

"No," Qui-Gon said, but he hesitated. He looked Anakin straight in the eye. "Not yet, anyway. Your heart stopped, but you have many doing their utmost to save you."

Anakin wasn't sure he cared either way.

"Is Obi-Wan okay?"

"He has a few bumps and bruises, but that's nothing unusual for him. He should be fine." Qui-Gon smiled.

Anakin glanced around the strange world that twisted in black and white. The light was brightest around Qui-Gon, who sat in a patch of white sand in air that radiated warmth from the Force. So different from the darkness that wrestled with the light around Anakin.

"Was this some kind of test?" Anakin asked. "To see what I would choose?"

"Perhaps," Qui-Gon said, though the doubt in his voice suggested he thought not. "Or perhaps it was meant to guide you to the correct path."

Anakin moved before he realized he was doing it. He shuffled through the white sand and closed the wide gap between him and Qui-Gon. He sat on his knees, same as Qui-Gon, and set his hands on his thighs. His eyes dropped to the space between them.

"I almost chose wrong," Anakin said. "Again."

"Almost and did are two very different words."

"It doesn't matter. The intention is still in me." Anakin's head sank at the realization. Despite all his efforts to be and do better, he found himself in the same place as before. "I'm still just… dangerous."

"That word has burdened you for many years." Qui-Gon sighed. "I wish the Council had taken the time to see what I saw in you. I saw your fear, but I did not see danger. I saw the boy on Tatooine who rescued a foreigner because it was the right thing to do. I saw the boy who invited home weary travelers in danger of a storm, who spoke of compassion and helping others, and who risked his life to provide strangers with a way home. You have always had a great light in you, Anakin, and a great potential for good. Your compassion for others is a great strength, not a weakness."

Anakin snorted and shook his head. Even in this lifetime, he had slaughtered the Tuskens without mercy. He had killed or threatened with death countless people in the war. He was angry, violent, and full of hate. It was not phenomenal that he became Darth Vader. Rather, it was the trajectory of his entire life. Any good in him was the oddity, the outlier that didn't make sense.

"Anakin," Qui-Gon said, with a unique twist of gentle and stern. "You have within you the ability to see and know deeply an individual's irrefutable, infinite worth… and that is a strength that few others possess."

"Jedi value all life," Anakin said. "We are taught to kill only if absolutely necessary and to preserve life at all costs."

"Yes, but it isn't the same. You see the individual first _._ " Qui-Gon smiled, but it was tired. "You don't weigh the individual against the greater good… To you, even one life has always been worth living and dying for. And now you have learned to perceive that the greater good is made up of many individuals, many sons and daughters, all of equal value and worth. Your sense of compassion has grown and made you that much stronger."

Anakin shook his head and rolled his eyes away. White and black raged against each other for space in his mind. Light against all-consuming darkness.

"Your past as a slave opened your eyes to compassion in ways few others will ever understand. You love and fight for the lost, forgotten, and weak because you empathize in ways others cannot." Qui-Gon let out a long breath and dipped his head, closing his eyes. "In all our good, we Jedi have failed in this… We've been complacent and detached. We love, but we do not love deeply." He returned his focus to Anakin, and softness touched his words. "Not so with you. When you see people hurting, your first instinct is to help. When you see their pain, your first reaction is always: me, too."

"If I am so compassionate," Anakin said with a sharp edge to his words, "why am I so bad? Why am I so hateful, angry, and afraid?"

"Do you know why you take on the appearance of a child in this place, Anakin?" Qui-Gon waved his hand about before settling his knowing gaze on Anakin. "This world is a world of your own making—so why are you trapped in that body?"

Anakin shrugged. Did it matter?

"You wear the body and clothes of a child slave because this is where you remain," Qui-Gon said. "For all the worth you see in others, you fail to see it in yourself. You view yourself as something worth discarding. Tell me, have you ever felt good enough?"

A breath caught in Anakin's throat and strangled him.

"As a slave, your value was defined by how well you performed. A broken tool no longer has value and should therefore be discarded." Qui-Gon stared at Anakin, firm and unwavering. "You feel the need to prove your worth because you believe you do not have any."

"You're wrong," Anakin snapped, but tears stung his eyes. He didn't know why. "I'm arrogant, and proud, and I…"

"I have watched a child shout to the world that he is good enough because the child believed he would not be accepted if he didn't perform. That child's fear of abandonment, of losing yet another tenuous place, only made him that much louder in his attempts to prove his worth," Qui-Gon said. "Arrogance and anger are nothing more than outward displays of our fears and insecurities."

"Why are you saying this?" Anakin blinked back tears. His head hurt. His heart hurt. "It doesn't change anything. It doesn't matter why I hurt anyone. Alderaan didn't care I was a slave. The Jedi I slaughtered didn't care. The millions of people I enslaved or destroyed didn't care."

Something warm and familiar came to Qui-Gon's eyes as he looked at Anakin. Something similar to the way Anakin's mom looked at him, long ago, and sometimes how Obi-Wan looked at him, too.

"I care," Qui-Gon said, in a whisper, but it reached Anakin with the full force of a charging bantha. "Wisdom comes from understanding, Anakin, and so, too, does the potential for growth. You have shown you are capable: you are not Darth Vader today, nor will you be tomorrow, because you chose a different path. You cannot change the past, but you can learn from it. And the future is of your choosing."

Anakin opened and closed his mouth several times, but he could think of nothing to say. He couldn't remove the harm he had done to others in the past: to the Tuskens, to the people he harmed in his foolishness and rage. He couldn't remove the harm he caused from those in the future, either, because they'd seen it. It burrowed in their hearts and minds as though he'd already done it. He had to bear these burdens if only so he could make things right.

He had to make things right. It was the only way.

"Anakin," Qui-Gon said, cutting through Anakin's thoughts with a solemn tenderness. He locked eyes with Anakin. "You are not a slave anymore."

Something cracked inside Anakin. Something broke and fell to pieces. Tears slipped down his cheeks, but he didn't understand why. After he'd been freed, he'd never considered himself a slave.

Had he?

"Freedom will be a beautiful thing for you when you finally embrace it," Qui-Gon said, and his smile went to his eyes.

Freedom. Anakin had been free since he was nine years old. Hadn't he? He stared at the sand.

Light flickered through the darkness around him, chasing some of the shadows away. Visions of the future leaped at him, but the light around him restrained them. So intense, the battle between light and dark in this place. Cracks made of pure light spread across the blood-splattered night, and rays of light peeked through.

"You're doing this, aren't you?" Anakin waved a hand to the sky.

"No. This is a world of your own making. I'm merely passing through."

"Am I dead?" Anakin asked, wondering at the change. The cracks continued to spread, though the black ceiling did not break.

"No. I think you will live." Qui-Gon chuckled and shook his head. His face softened, and the warm grin remained. "Obi-Wan keeps checking on you. He's very worried about you."

Anakin dropped his head and his shoulders. Guilt crawled over him.

"I'm sorry I keep hurting him…"

"Don't apologize. He's learned a lot from you and has come a long way from the hot-headed boy I trained. You helped him grow beyond himself."

Qui-Gon let out a puff of air and crossed his arms, but a light twinkled in his eyes.

"I will acknowledge I would have liked him to come to these conclusions sooner. The way he's coddling you… I remember falling ill once on a mission, and Obi-Wan politely asked if I was dying, to which I said no. He then mercilessly insisted we continue on with our duty and wouldn't allow me to rest for even a moment." The Jedi Master huffed, a mock frown marring his face. "If he goes about fluffing your pillows and other such things, he and I are going to have words later."

Anakin couldn't help but smile.

"Speak to him, Anakin," Qui-Gon said, and his seriousness returned. Kind, but honest. "You don't need to hide anymore, least of all from him. I assure you."

Anakin offered only a hesitant nod.

Qui-Gon smiled and dipped his head. He straightened his back, returned his hands flat to his thighs, and closed his eyes in meditation.

Anakin mirrored him. He allowed himself to sink into the Force. A wave of peace rolled over him, and for the first time in what felt like years, the world in Anakin's mind was quiet.


	21. Princess Leia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for your continued support. It is so fun being on this adventure with all of you. Please continue to enjoy~

When Anakin finally woke, it took great effort on his part to drag himself out of his sleep. A cold, gray ceiling, a few dull, flashing lights, and rhythmic beeps greeted him. Several machines crowded around him, one attached to tubes in his arm and one had several wires that ran to pads taped to his chest under the light tunic he wore.

He turned his head with a grimace, his neck stiff, and inspected the room. Dim lights revealed he was alone in the medbay of a standard Republic ship. He had no idea how much time had passed, but given he'd almost died and no one was still fretting around him, he assumed it had been a while since his collapse.

The quiet roar of a ship's engines nearly lulled him back to sleep until he recalled what had happened. The Death Star, Alderaan, and Leia… the decision that should have cost Leia her life but somehow didn't. Obi-Wan, the Jedi, and several troopers had been injured or killed. On top of everything, Sidious escaped.

Now was not the time for rest—he had to find out what had happened since his untimely brush with death.

Anakin eased himself into an upright position. His body ached even at the slight motion, and a bout of nausea struck. Everything spun around him. Once the initial dizziness wore off, he carefully unplugged the few monitors he knew wouldn't trigger alerts but left alone the ones he knew he needed. He'd played this game before. He used the IV machine as a crutch when his knees almost gave out under him. The metal under his bare feet was cold, and his muscles screamed in defiance. He hobbled to the counter and dug in drawers and cabinets in search of more suitable clothing or footwear but found nothing.

Not that it mattered, since he would probably get scolded and sent back to bed. At least if he found someone, they would be forced to escort him back and he would be able to ask them questions on the way.

He limped out the door, dragging his IV machine with him, and found a vacant corridor. A wobbly and weak sound echoed through a door on the other end of the hall. A child's cry. Familiar. Anakin's heart ached at the sound. He'd heard it in his nightmares for the past half a year. He shuffled his machine in the direction of the sound, and it grew louder until pain knifed through his sensitive ears, thundered through his head, and lanced all the way down to his toes.

The woman Anakin thought was Breha stepped through a door with Leia wailing pitifully in her arms. He froze at the sight of them, and Breha did likewise at the sight of him. Her eyes grew wide, sort of a stunned horror, and Anakin wondered if he was actually a prisoner, someone to be feared. Breha's expression shifted immediately to concern and dispelled the notion.

"You should be resting," she said. "You're in no condition to be up. Return to your room."

"I just…" Anakin puffed for air and found himself pathetically winded. He wheezed.

"Exactly. Let's go," Breha said. She closed the distance between them and held Leia in one arm while she used the other hand to commandeer Anakin's IV machine.

"Are you… Queen Breha Organa?" he asked as he followed her back to his room.

"I am." She moved the IV machine in ahead of him and activated a brighter light. "And you are Anakin Skywalker. The young man who nearly died saving my planet."

Anakin halted halfway to the bed and glanced at her. Just what sort of stories had gone around while he slept? He tucked the IV machine into its corner and sat on the edge of the bed. His head sank, and he wrung the edge of his tunic.

"I just did… what I didn't do the last time."

Breha bobbed Leia, who continued to screech in a rage. She had a strong set of lungs.

"I don't know much about visions of the future or how much we should honor them as truth. I know little of Darth Vader," said the Queen of Alderaan. "But I do know a young Jedi single-handedly saved my people at great cost to himself. I'm grateful."

Anakin didn't know what else to say. In the future, he killed her and everyone else on that planet. Breha turned as if to leave, Leia still screeching.

"Is Leia all right?" Anakin couldn't help but ask.

"Apparently, she only likes her mother," Breha said with a quiet laugh. "I'll have to grow on her." She took another step towards the door but faced Anakin again. Warmth melted across her features. "She's teething, which doesn't seem to help. I was actually looking for a medic to see if they might have something for her."

"Teething…"

Anakin started to smile but caught himself and restrained it. Leia was crawling, picking fights with Luke, and teething. She'd grown so fast.

"Actually, why don't you take her while I go find the medic," Breha said, and she passed Leia to Anakin without waiting for his reply.

Anakin sputtered out a sound, but Leia was already in his hands and Breha had already stepped away.

"N-no, I don't think—"

"It will just be a moment."

Leia screamed all the louder as Breha walked to the door. Anakin's heart jumped into his throat, and for fear of terrorizing the infant, he pushed comfort at her through the Force while shushing her the way he'd seen mothers do.

Leia went quiet and stared up at Anakin with big, wet eyes. Her face screwed up in a frown, but she grabbed at her blanket and gnawed on it. She stared at Anakin, and Anakin stared back.

"Well," Breha said, "it seems she just needed her father."

Anakin peeled his eyes off Leia and hastily shook his head.

"No, I've never… I haven't held her before."

"Then perhaps it's a Jedi thing." Breha smiled and stepped out the door. "I'm going to get her a bottle. Perhaps you'll be able to get her to eat."

"N-no—" Anakin started to protest, but the door shut behind Breha and left him alone with Leia.

His heart skipped several more beats as he looked down at the bundle of infant in his arms. He shifted her to what he thought would be a more comfortable position and cradled her to his chest. His arms still felt dismally weak, and with the way his heart kept stuttering, he feared collapsing or losing his grip on her. Something that might hurt her.

Anakin dragged his IV machine to the corner of the room, sat on the floor with knees bent, and tucked Leia safely against him. All the while she stared at him with big, dark eyes and nibbled at her blanket. She yawned, and Anakin caught a glimpse of a tooth poking through her gum. The blotchy redness from crying faded from her skin, and he used the sleeve of his tunic to wipe away her tears. She had such round little cheeks.

Leia squeaked and babbled, and she wriggled in the blanket like she intended to pop out and start crawling away. Her hands grasped at the air before catching the blanket again, which she pulled at with vigorous strength. He smiled at her little hands—and she smiled, too. A big, silly, toothless smile.

Tears stung Anakin's eyes and rolled down his cheeks. She was perfect. So perfect and beautiful.

The door slid open, but where Anakin expected Breha, Obi-Wan appeared. He blinked in bemusement at the bed and then Anakin on the floor. He waved a baby's bottle in the air as he limped into the room, and the door closed behind him.

"I met Her Majesty on the way," he said. He made his way to the corner with some difficulty, and he definitely favored his left side. As he looked Anakin over, he said, "Interesting. Leia usually only likes Padmé."

"Are you all right?"

"Oh, just a few bruised ribs and a sore leg at this point." Obi-Wan leaned against the wall and slid down to sit beside Anakin. "I'll be fine." He offered Anakin the bottle.

"Maybe you should…" Anakin tried to pass Leia to Obi-Wan, but Obi-Wan waved a hand to reject her.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly." Obi-Wan tapped at his chest. "Bruised ribs and all. Would definitely put too much strain on them." He gave Anakin the bottle and leaned back, making himself comfortable against the wall.

"I don't…" Anakin let out a puff of air as he looked at the bottle and Leia. He had no idea what he was doing, had no idea if he should even be doing this, and he just kept crying like a fool.

"Just give her the bottle, Anakin, you aren't going to hurt her," Obi-Wan said with a slight laugh mingled in his words.

Anakin shifted Leia so she wasn't completely horizontal, propped her against his chest, and offered her the bottle. Her little hands grappled it greedily and she yanked it to her mouth and slurped at it as though half starved. As she drank, she shot a wary look at Obi-Wan before returning her steadfast gaze to Anakin. He sank into the corner into a more comfortable position.

"I don't understand," Anakin whispered, his eyes focused wholly on the living, breathing child in his arms. "How did she survive?"

"Whatever you did to stop the Death Star's superlaser severed the power source to Sidious' bombs," Obi-Wan said. "The bombs were built into the wiring, likely so the superlaser and bombs would go off at the same time. It was Sidious' plan, after all, to make you choose." Obi-Wan's tone softened. "It was your choice that ended up saving both. Some of the bombs went off, but the chain reaction was averted."

Anakin stared at Leia. The Force had given him a choice. It wasn't an individual against the greater good. It was light, which would save both, against dark, which would maybe save one or the other—or destroy both.

They sat in silence while Leia gulped nearly the entire bottle, but she started to doze in the process. Towards the end of the bottle, her eyelids fluttered, and though she fought, she finally fell asleep. Anakin set the bottle on the floor.

"You should burp her," Obi-Wan said, lightly.

"Burp?" Anakin blinked at Obi-Wan.

"On your shoulder," Obi-Wan said, and traces of a laugh worked into his voice again. He started to move Leia—with Anakin's hands still attached to her—and brought her upright with her head on Anakin's shoulder. He lightly patted her back. "You know, after they've eaten."

"Oh!"

Anakin had seen mothers do this before, too. He adjusted Leia, still fast asleep with her head resting on his shoulder, and patted her back. Obi-Wan returned to his relaxed position and smiled. Something warm rose in his eyes. He seemed to be savoring this moment, though Anakin wasn't particularly proud of his own pathetic blundering. Even so, Anakin couldn't resist his own smile. He didn't know why.

Leia burped but didn't wake.

Anakin brought Leia down so that he could cradle her in both arms. He stared at her, appreciating and becoming familiar with all her perfect little features, and he couldn't help the tears that returned to his eyes. He smiled anyway and shifted to the side, leaning on Obi-Wan, so his former Master could see her.

"Look," Anakin said, and he half laughed and half sobbed. "She has Padmé's nose."

Obi-Wan continued to smile but said nothing.

After some time, Obi-Wan shifted beside Anakin—at which point Anakin realized he still leaned much of his weight on his former Master who had suffered injury and probably didn't appreciate the extra burden. Anakin sat up.

"I'm sorry, Master. Did I…"

"No, no," Obi-Wan said, and he continued to squirm even after Anakin moved. His eyes went to his hands that he wrung in his lap. "Anakin, I need to discuss something with you, and I—"

The door to the room slid open, and Anakin and Obi-Wan lifted their faces to find Coric frowning at them. Coric opened his mouth to speak, but Obi-Wan beat him to it.

"In the name of—get out." Obi-Wan huffed and climbed up the wall. He marched, resolutely and hardly with a limp, towards Coric and waved him out the door.

"I beg your pardon?" Coric's brow furrowed.

"I just need a moment longer with him—" Obi-Wan started to say, but Coric pushed past him into the room.

"You can have a moment later, after he's rested. Hopefully on Coruscant, because he should sleep that long." Coric folded his arms and took a stern tone. "He needs rest. Or have you failed to recall that his heart stopped?" For good measure, he added a curt, "Sir."

Anakin's lip twitched nearly to a smile.

"Of course I didn't forget. And I know he needs rest." Obi-Wan folded his arms at his chest. He certainly put up a fight to have a simple chat with Anakin, and he puffed and scrunched his face, all out of sorts about it. Very unlike him. "But we were only talking. A little longer shouldn't hurt."

"I don't want you to agitate him." Coric turned a sharp look on Anakin. "He should be in bed resting and not sitting on the floor with half his equipment disassembled."

Anakin used the wall to slide to his feet while carefully holding Leia close to keep her safe and stable.

"I wasn't planning on agitating him," Obi-Wan said, a tinge of annoyance on his tongue.

"You always agitate him."

"Well, it's not that hard to do." Obi-Wan huffed again.

"Hey." Anakin frowned at them.

"You should be in bed," Coric said, firmly.

"Now you're agitating me." Anakin shot him a mock scowl, but it took too much effort to maintain. A small smile crept onto his lips.

Coric's stern expression didn't falter. He was not amused or impressed.

"Very well," Obi-Wan said, and he sighed as he ran both hands down his face. He went to Anakin and dragged the IV machine back to the side of the bed, and Anakin had no choice but to move along with it until he perched on the bed. Obi-Wan carefully took Leia from Anakin as he said, "Coric is right. You do need your rest."

Anakin relinquished Leia, but his brow furrowed despite his best attempts at staying neutral. It hurt to see her go. But it was right. Leia squirmed in her blanket and squeaked, and Obi-Wan flinched at her and gritted his teeth.

"Please don't wake up. Please."

"A calming nudge through the Force should help," Anakin said, remembering how it had instantly calmed her.

"I've tried that before. It didn't work very well." Obi-Wan chuckled.

Anakin's frown deepened. Obi-Wan didn't seem to notice or care. He offered Anakin a smile, and though Anakin avoided making eye contact, he could feel the warmth of the look.

"A talk, later, then," Obi-Wan said, softly. "You and I have some things to sort through."

Anakin could only offer the slightest nod. His chin went to his chest and he stared at his hands in his lap. He fidgeted with the front of his tunic. A talk—things to sort through: with Obi-Wan, that could mean a thorough reprimand or a quiet offer for Anakin to open up. Anakin wasn't sure he could tolerate either. He knew he'd failed on the Death Star and didn't need anyone to tell him about it. And he didn't think—he couldn't—he wasn't certain he would be able to speak to Obi-Wan anyway. It wasn't typical of their relationship.

Even if he knew it was necessary.

Obi-Wan nodded in return and shuffled out the door. His quiet shushes at Leia went out the door with him. Coric waited until the door closed before he folded his arms over his chest and gave Anakin another look. A stern one. One with the full weight of a hardened trooper behind it. Wow, he'd gotten good at that. It took a moment for Anakin to realize why he was getting that look, though.

"Oh!" He spun on the bed and crawled under the blanket, burrowing for warmth but also to hide from Coric.

Coric muttered something but otherwise left him alone.


	22. Apartment Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Always, always, always, thank you so much for your continued support!!

Night fell long before Anakin made his way to the Senate Apartment Complex. Lights blinked from distant buildings and illuminated the skyline. The whir of engines quieted but never truly ceased, not there. He'd gotten so accustomed to this routine, arriving late at night and skulking in the shadows, that it almost felt natural to him. Almost.

This time, he arrived with Leia in his arms. He didn't even know how it happened.

Anakin woke after their late arrival on Coruscant. Obi-Wan left to speak with the Council and was gone before Anakin woke. Senator Organa and Queen Organa had planned to take Leia to Padmé and had apparently sent a message to her, but an urgent notice from the Senate distracted them. Breha passed Leia to Anakin with a few words of advice and disappeared with her husband. Anakin, still bleary-eyed and winded from walking through the ship, hadn't had the mental acuity to argue.

So here he was, strolling through the apartment complex with Leia. He held her with her back to his chest, because she seemed to enjoy looking out at the world. Her head whipped one way and then another, eyes wide, and she took it all in. Occasionally, her arms would flail and her legs would kick when she saw something particularly colorful or bright.

R2 trundled along behind them. Someone had fixed his wheel.

Anakin meandered through the hallway of the complex, and his steps slowed the closer he got to Padmé's apartment. He wasn't upset that he had to go there, because he knew he had something to say to her that needed to be said, but terror drenched his heart and made his chest ache at the thought.

A cluster of about a dozen troopers gathered in the hall in front of Padmé's door. She must have loved that. They all stood at attention, blasters raised, when he appeared, but a squeak from Leia put them at ease. They stepped aside for him, but he felt the weight of their stares even through their visors. R2 rolled up behind Anakin and swiveled his optical lens at each individual trooper. He beeped at them. Anakin took a deep breath and pressed the intercom.

"It's Anakin," he said into the intercom. "I have Leia."

A moment of soul-crushing silence followed. The door opened to reveal 3PO and a dim apartment behind him.

"Oh, Master Anakin! How good it is to see you," 3PO said with his usual formality and cheerful vigor. "And Mistress Leia, too—"

"Move, Threepio!" Padmé called from inside the apartment.

Her footsteps pattered the floor somewhere behind 3PO. She shoved past the droid into the doorway. Both her hands slammed against the doorframe. Her eyes went wide when they found Anakin, but it was short-lived—her focus went straight to Leia. Leia lit up with a brilliant smile, and her little hands flew up and her tiny legs started kicking at the sight of her mother. Tears filled Padmé's eyes and she let out a breath and a sob before reaching to take her daughter. Padmé held Leia close, cradled Leia's head at her shoulder, and wept over her child nearly lost.

Because of Anakin.

Padmé wandered into the apartment as she cried and held Leia. Anakin remained in the doorway, knowing he didn't belong but not comfortable with leaving her. He still had something to say, and he needed to say it. But the reunion between mother and daughter—he couldn't interfere with that.

R2 whistled and trundled into the apartment, and he stopped to inspect 3PO. The two started up a dialogue, but Anakin didn't pay attention to them. His mind went blank, the throbbing in his head a little too persistent and the ache in his chest devastating and overwhelming.

Padmé collected herself, though tears continued to fall. She faced Anakin while she bounced Leia in her arms.

"You can come in," she said. He caught the hint of uncertainty. She looked at him the way she had when they'd met again for the first time when Anakin was a Padawan—not sure yet if she should love or reject him.

Anakin couldn't bring himself to move. The more he thought of what he needed to say, the more tears stung behind his eyes and the more his heart hammered inside his chest like a monster ripping its way out. He would never get through it if he didn't say it then and there.

He stepped inside and allowed the door to close only because the troopers outside needn’t hear him.

"I'm sorry," he said, and the words barely escaped his lips. When Padmé's brow wrinkled, genuine confusion marring her beautiful face, he elaborated, "For everything, but…" He couldn't breathe, and a dry lump in his throat choked him. "You deserve to know. Padmé, I had to make a choice." His own tears started to fall. "I had to choose between saving Leia and saving Alderaan…. Padmé, I chose Alderaan."

Her face contorted into a frown. She wore an expression of horror, and it reminded Anakin of everything he'd done and would do. He deserved the reaction, he deserved the rejection, but it stung because he would do everything different in this lifetime if he could.

"I didn't have time," he said, tried to explain, not that there was any excuse. "But I chose Alderaan, and Leia is only alive because of some fluke. If not for that, she'd be…"

He would be the reason she died.

"I'm sorry," Anakin said, but the words would never be enough. "I'm so sorry—"

Padmé embraced him with one arm, her hand at the back of his head to draw him near despite Leia muttering between them. Padmé held him tight, and Anakin stood stiff and dumb. His heart roared and made him lightheaded.

"I'm sorry, Ani," Padmé whispered, her voice addled with grief. "I'm so sorry you were in a position where you had to choose. It's not fair. I'm sorry for what Sidious has done to you."

Padmé did not release her grip on him, and Anakin didn't have the heart to fight her. It felt warm and safe with her, something he infinitely craved. It did no good to be there with her, he knew that, but he couldn't be bothered to move. She may have held him longer if not for the squeak that erupted across the room.

They separated to find Luke making an ambitious trek across the floor to reach them. He'd tuck his head down and charge in a hasty crawl, stop to reorient himself, wobbling on still-too-weak arms and legs, and tuck and charge. When he got close enough, he stopped and stared at them, a flash of bemusement across his round face, and he squawked like some sort of animal but full of so much joy and pleasure that both Anakin and Padmé chuckled. Luke's face lit up with an enormous grin quite on par with Leia's toothless smile, and he crawled towards them and squawked with giddy enthusiasm the entire way.

3PO followed Luke, having apparently gone off to tend to him, and R2 rolled up beside Luke. Luke bounced on his hands and knees when he saw the droid and squealed that much louder. Luke definitely had a bit more cheerful enthusiasm than Leia.

"Has she been changed recently?" Padmé asked, bouncing Leia to draw Anakin's attention back to her.

"Not that I'm aware of, no." Anakin shook his head. He hadn't, at least, since leaving the ship.

"I'm going to take care of her. Would you mind…?" Padmé waved her hand at Luke. "He won't be any trouble."

Anakin swallowed hard. He couldn't—he _shouldn't._ Yet when he really took in Padmé's image, he relented and offered a quick nod. She looked so worn, with pale cheeks and dark rings around her eyes. Her hair, normally perfectly maintained, frizzed in odd directions, as though maybe she'd tried to do something with it but couldn't be bothered. She'd been through a lot, worrying over Leia on top of tending to Luke. He owed it to her and to them to give Padmé some time.

"Thank you," she said. She slipped away, her light gown swishing as she left the room.

Luke watched her go, and Anakin fully expected him to burst into tears as his mother disappeared. Luke looked at Anakin, stared as though contemplating his existence, grinned, and squawked. He ducked his head and charged straight at Anakin.

Anakin melted. For the trillionth time, he resisted tears. He knelt to receive Luke, who came straight to him. Luke tugged at Anakin's pant leg as if trying to pull himself up. Anakin obliged him, took Luke's arms, and carefully lifted him to his feet. Luke snatched Anakin's leg and stood—with Anakin's support—and squealed with delight. The happiest shriek Anakin had ever heard.

Luke tried to turn and walk away, but his legs couldn't yet support his weight, so Anakin had to move with him. Luke toddled all the way to R2 and threw his hands against the droid, unleashing yet another happy screech, and then he turned back to Anakin and threw himself into his arms. Anakin received the full weight of his tiny son in both arms, and he wept. He laughed when Luke opened his mouth and gnawed on Anakin's shirt.

Padmé returned with a bottle in hand and Leia, bundled in a blanket, in her arm. Her hair had been brushed—a little—and she wore a nightgown. Anakin lifted Luke and stood, and Padmé offered the bottle with a sheepish smile.

"I've been meaning to get one for him, but I was so anxious about Leia." Padmé continued to smile, but it looked to Anakin tired and forced, something between grin and grimace. Her entire body dragged.

His mind told him to leave before he could cause her any trouble, but his heart told him to stay and offer his support. If only she could have a little peace of mind. He took the bottle and carried Luke to the sofa. Padmé sat on one end and Anakin sat on the other end, maintaining his distance. She smiled at him anyway as she nuzzled into her seat with Leia swaddled at her chest.

Anakin cradled Luke and offered the bottle. Luke took it and stared at Anakin with big, bright eyes, inspecting him with the same curiosity Leia had. Luke finished only about half the bottle before he drifted to sleep. Remembering Obi-Wan's instruction, Anakin lifted the boy to his shoulder and patted his back to burp him. Anakin glanced at Padmé.

She and Leia had fallen asleep.

"It is very late," 3PO said. "The children should be put to bed. If Mistress Padmé sleeps there, surely she will get a knot in her neck."

"Can you show me?" Anakin asked.

He stood with Luke and followed 3PO into the bedroom. Two bassinets lined one wall, one with a pink blanket embroidered with pudgy, baby Wookiees and another with a blue blanket embroidered with squished astromech droids quite similar in design and color to R2. Anakin couldn't help yet another smile that crawled onto his face. He laid Luke in his bassinet with the droid blanket before returning to collect Leia. He set her in her bassinet, and before he could even try to touch it, her hands snapped to her Wookiee blanket and she nuzzled it to her cheek.

3PO stood watch over him the entire time and made Anakin feel out of sorts, as though he were some kind of threat to them. When he returned to the sofa and to Padmé, 3PO followed along.

"It is so good to see you, Master Anakin. We have been very worried about you. Especially poor Mistress Padmé, even though she tries not to show it. She's putting on such a brave front."

Anakin contemplated Padmé for only a moment. The sofa wouldn't be comfortable, and she was in dire need of rest. She deserved rest. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. 3PO followed.

"She calls out for you at night sometimes. In her sleep, of course. She's not slept well since you've left, Master Anakin. Are you able to stay, or do duties continue to call you elsewhere?"

Anakin laid Padmé in bed and drew the blankets around her so she could sleep peacefully. He frowned at 3PO's words. The droid seemed to think he still belonged here, despite giving Padmé formal separation documents. Almost as if he had been spoken about by Padmé as being away on duty and not simply… being away. Away because of war, as he'd often been, and not because he was a threat and a danger to his family.

After settling Padmé in bed, he ensured she and the twins slept soundly before exiting the bedroom. He would stay only long enough to ensure Padmé slept, uninterrupted—if the twins needed something, he'd help and let her sleep. He owed her that. He gathered a spare blanket and returned to the sofa.

"I'm only here for tonight, Threepio," Anakin said as he sat and removed his boots.

"Oh," the droid said, genuinely disappointed. "That is unfortunate."

R2 whirled around the sofa and beeped at Anakin with ferocity, and Anakin needed no translation. Even 3PO jumped back with a start.

"Now that was certainly uncalled for," the protocol droid said.

"I can't stay, Artoo." Anakin lay on the sofa and spread the blanket out. He still felt a bit chilled from the fever. He and Padmé used to fight over the temperature in the apartment, and now she had it set to frigid cold. He might need another blanket. "Just for tonight. For Padmé."

R2 let out a sad whine. Anakin patted the droid on the head, rolled over, and curled up to sleep.


	23. Darkness Falls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I wish you all the best and most beautiful 2021! Thanks always for reading and for your continued support~

Lights blinked to a steady beat over Coruscant, at least from Obi-Wan's perspective as he sat in his seat in the High Council chamber. Everything twisted and shifted into a blur of black shadows and artificial illumination. Dawn had not yet broken through the night, though it would soon.

He'd left in such a rush to attend an emergency Council meeting that he hadn't properly parted with Anakin, and that troubled him. He'd meant it when he said he would have a talk with Anakin later, just the two of them, to clear the air between them. To set things right in a way Anakin could hopefully understand. Yet now, for all he knew, Anakin had hopped on another ship and vanished across the galaxy.

With Sidious still out there and Anakin still one of his major targets, Obi-Wan wanted to know Anakin's location. He wanted people around Anakin who would protect him from Sidious, of course, but also from himself.

Anakin's heart had stopped. He had been clinically dead. Every time Obi-Wan thought of it, his own heart murmured in disagreement.

"Obi-Wan." Master Windu's voice cut through his thoughts and stirred him from his ruminations.

Obi-Wan blinked, bewildered, and realized the other Council members, both those present and those attending via holographic projection, stared at him in anticipation. His mind had wandered again. It had been doing that a lot lately, and it was the second time this meeting he'd drifted elsewhere. He ran his hands over his face and tried a smile, but he couldn't muster one.

"I apologize," he said, and he heaved a sigh. "What was the question?"

Master Windu looked to Master Yoda, but Master Yoda stared at the floor, his face in a tight frown. Obi-Wan needed to focus.

"I understand you just returned and must be weary," Master Windu said in his form of subtle apology. "So we'll try to keep this brief. My question to you is, do you feel Skywalker is a liability?"

Obi-Wan blinked again, several times, before the word landed in his mind. A liability. The young man who had traversed the galaxy stealing from ruffians to give to the lost and forgotten, who had steered his ship into a massive laser to stop it from firing on a planet, and who had stopped his own heart in his desperate efforts to stop said laser from destroying yet another planet.

"A liability of which you need to be concerned? No," Obi-Wan said, and he left it at that.

"But someone should be concerned?" Master Windu leaned forward in his seat and tented his hands in front of him.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. He was concerned, and not because Anakin was a danger to anyone else. Anakin was a danger to Anakin, and since Anakin was no longer a Jedi, it had no bearing on the Council. None in that room bore ill will towards Anakin, Obi-Wan knew, but the vision had only widened the rift that always existed between Anakin and everyone else in the Order. Within the Order, Obi-Wan would be alone in efforts to keep Anakin from destroying himself.

"Very well," Master Windu said without pressing further. He sat back and rested his arms on his seat. "It should be safe to leave him for the time being. Since he walked away from the Order, he is in the Senate's hands. And I feel, very soon, they may change their tone about him."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

"The Senate has been deliberating about nominations for Chancellor, and it seems one nominee may have Skywalker's interests in mind," Master Allie explained, leaning casually in her seat. "Senator Organa was nominated by Senators Amidala and Mothma, and it sounds as though Senator Organa has a sizeable amount of support in the current Senate."

"Bail!" Obi-Wan sat forward.

A smile spread on his lips despite a poor attempt to restrain it. Bail would be one of the top nominees, without a doubt. He was a renowned speaker and already popular in the Senate. He had a way of moving people with words that few others did, and above all else, he was wise and compassionate. The man hardly had a sour bone in his body. Fiery and fierce, of course, but only in the name of justice—of what was right.

"I believe he was just formally nominated earlier tonight. Much of the Senate still deliberates at this hour," Master Windu said. "Of course, it will be some time before the Senate votes, but it seems likely he will win the election."

Obi-Wan sank in his seat and looked out at the blinking lights of the sprawling city. Chancellor Organa had a nice ring to it, and Bail would serve the people of the galaxy well. Obi-Wan had little respect for politicians, and Bail was one of the limited few he trusted.

"Continuing our discussion on the Death Star, so we can wrap up here and let Obi-Wan take a nap…" Master Windu leaned back, the corner of his lips quirking upward.

Obi-Wan chuckled but couldn't argue. His gaze went back out to the dark world and its twinkling lights, and his mind, as it did, wandered elsewhere. The Council talked of the Death Star, and Obi-Wan vaguely caught information on it.

The massive weapon had been disassembled and the pieces separated or destroyed to prevent the production of a second weapon. Many of the Jedi had been dispersed throughout the galaxy to monitor for a second Death Star and to continue their strikes against the Separatists. And, of course, they hunted for Sidious, who continued to elude them.

Obi-Wan caught an overview of the conversation, but the words muddled together in his head. After a while, he found himself focusing wholly on the darkness smothering Coruscant. His stomach turned, and he frowned.

"Hmm," Master Yoda said after having been quiet their entire meeting. The sound of his voice alone drew Obi-Wan's attention.

"Are you all right, Master?" Master Ti asked, her projection rippling as she moved in her seat.

"A great disturbance in the Force, I feel." Master Yoda raised a hand to his chest and clutched the front of his tunic. His brow furrowed, eyes narrowed, and ears sank. He turned his face one way and then another. No one interrupted him. "The presence of the dark side, heavy it is."

Obi-Wan's stomach twisted again. He sensed it, too. Something felt out of place, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Master Yoda rose abruptly, and his face snapped towards the door. Obi-Wan's stomach plummeted, and he and the other present Council Members rose. Darkness permeated the air, as if it might take a physical form, and strangled the typical, effortless connection with the Force. Like drowning.

"Come, he has," Master Yoda said, and he marched to the doors.

Sidious.

"Alert the others to be on guard," Master Windu said to the holographic projections of the other Masters. "Await contact, but be ready."

Each of the projections offered a quick nod and vanished in a blink. Obi-Wan and the others followed Master Yoda out the door. A sense of evil radiated through the Temple from a singular point, oozing through the halls and corrupting everything it touched. Many Knights fell in behind them, but Padawans and younglings fled. Visions flickered through Obi-Wan's mind of another time and place when those same young Jedi lay slain on the floor. That would not happen, not in this lifetime.

They reached the Great Hall and found a singular black blotch marring the vast, decorative space. A cloaked figure stood with his back to them, still and silent, unconcerned by the thunder of footsteps that arrived. As though it took great effort on his part to be bothered, Sidious turned to face them so that only half his pale face peeked out of his cowl.

"Only five Masters this time?" he asked. "Better than last time, but I would have thought you'd have learned your lesson."

"Five will be more than enough." Master Fisto drew and ignited his lightsaber, and he shuffled sideways to get to the other side of Sidious.

Obi-Wan and the Masters spread out in a circle around the Sith Lord. The Knights who followed did likewise but remained behind them. All drew their lightsabers and ignited the blades, filling the Hall with light.

As he moved in the circle, Obi-Wan noticed the bodies of the guards sprawled at the entrance to the Great Hall. Guards and several Padawans and Knights—unsuspecting victims when Sidious entered. He'd grown much stronger in this lifetime. Obi-Wan's chest ached for the lost comrades.

"It seems once again I am at an advantage," Sidious said. His eyes followed Master Yoda.

"One should not boast about a victory not yet achieved," Master Windu said, his face glowing from his purple blade.

"Master Windu." Sidious grinned from ear to ear. "Didn't I end you in another life? Oh right, I had a little help…" His wicked gaze swung to Obi-Wan. "Do tell me, where is Anakin?"

Fury simmered inside Obi-Wan, and he wisely chose to hold his tongue. This was the man who had sought Anakin for years, who had twisted Anakin's mind, and who had corrupted Anakin and made him question everything, even his own worth. Anakin may have chosen the dark side in another life, but Sidious had been the one doing everything feasibly possible to push him to it since Anakin was a small boy.

"I feel your anger," Sidious said, and a chuckle slipped off his tongue. He glanced at the other Masters. "You put on the perfect façade, but you are no better or different than me. You wage war against anger because you fear it. Fear what it can do to your perfect, pristine personas. If only you would embrace that side of you as I have—then you might be capable of killing me."

"Our intent to kill you, it is not," Master Yoda said. He took a fierce stance, and the rest of the Jedi around Sidious did the same. "Surrender, and lay down your weapon."

"I think… I shall not."

Sidious swept a hand through the air, his cloak twisting, and the Knights on the fringes of the circle flew back into the walls. Obi-Wan and the Masters slid backwards but grounded themselves with the Force. As one fluid body, they lunged inward to strike at the Sith Lord.

"Do it," Sidious said to no one, almost at a whisper. He moved his arm, and Obi-Wan saw the flash of a comlink in his hand.

A jolt of pain lanced through Obi-Wan's head and twisted every muscle in his body. His legs gave way beneath him and he crumpled to the polished floor. Having been mid-lunge, he slid into the circle and stopped not far from Sidious' feet, and his lightsaber clattered to the tile and skidded away from him. Through a haze of pain that covered his eyes, he saw the forms of every other Jedi in the room go down with him.

Nightmares echoed the pain in waves, unrelenting, twisting his thoughts until he could make sense of nothing. Visions from the past and future, death and devastation, enslavement of entire planets, entire worlds laid waste under Sith rule. He felt the death of millions of lives as he'd felt the death of Alderaan in the future. It repeated, a cacophony of excruciating cries.

"It is amazing what an additional two decades of wisdom can offer," Sidious said, but his voice gurgled as if through water. Muted and distant. The Sith Lord, or at least the black shape Obi-Wan perceived to be Sidious, paced a small circle inside the ring of Jedi who had crumbled to the floor. "I'd always wondered about controlling the minds of others. A difficult task over the long term, and so hard to maintain when chips installed in brains served a much more practical purpose."

Obi-Wan writhed and tried to find his lightsaber on the floor. When he thought Sidious had turned away, when he couldn't see the white oval of his face in the blotch of black, Obi-Wan pulled his lightsaber to him with the Force. It tumbled across the floor to his fingertips, but he hadn't the strength to grab it. Sidious glanced at him but did nothing to stop him. Obi-Wan could do nothing else as every muscle contracted and resisted control.

"And then, of course, all of you Jedi were dead, so I couldn't much implement this plan years later." A chuckle escaped Sidious' lips, short and low. Cruel. "Truth be told, Gubacher and young Anakin helped with this. A wide-range transmitter set to very specific frequencies that would impact sentient minds: absolutely brilliant."

Sidious kicked someone in the ring, though Obi-Wan could not distinguish whom in the blur.

"So I thought to myself, what of a weapon that coupled that same technology with the Sith holocrons that you Jedi are oh-so feeble against." Sidious shuffled in his small circle. Pleasure rang through every word. "What if I could broadcast insanity across the whole of the galaxy?"

Obi-Wan's muscles relaxed, but only slightly. The nightmares receded and gave back some semblance of clarity. He'd felt all this before, the corruption of Sith holocrons. Even being in their presence darkened the Force so immensely that it could destroy the mind of powerful Jedi. History had shown that holocrons could be weaponized, but to weaponize it on such a grand scale—it had never been done before.

"With enough holocrons, and with enough of the right holocrons, it actually wasn't so difficult a feat," Sidious said. He faced Obi-Wan, as if inspecting him. "The holocrons are now broadcasting dark energies across the galaxy, and every single Force-sensitive life form should be in the same predicament as you."

"You… will not… win." Master Windu choked out the words as if strangled. Sidious spun and kicked him hard enough to slide Master Windu across the tile floor.

"I already have. For once I break your minds, I shall use another holocron and enslave you as I did the clones." Sidious marched after Master Windu and kicked him again.

Obi-Wan slowly, carefully pushed himself to one knee without making a sound. None of the other Masters seemed capable of moving, and Obi-Wan attributed that to his past experiences on Zigoola. He'd spent hours—days—resisting a vast amount of holocrons. He'd eventually fallen, but not immediately. Besides, something painfully familiar stirred in his mind at the touch of the dark holocrons' powers. Now he knew the dark side, too, because of Anakin's memories.

"We will fight," Master Windu insisted, and he tried to lift his head off the floor, tried to lift his face towards Sidious.

"And then your fellow Jedi will cut you down." Sidious kicked him again, then hoisted him into the air with the Force and flung him into one of the hall's many pillars. The pillar and terrace above crumbled over Master Windu. "Your dreaded Order 66, only you will slaughter each other."

Sidious laughed, and it rang throughout the vast hall. So chilling and menacing that it sent waves of bitter cold down Obi-Wan's spine. Now or never, before the Sith Lord turned to face him and he lost the element of surprise.

Obi-Wan threw himself forward, silent as he could, and swung his lightsaber in a swift flash of blue light. His reaction time must have been slower than he realized. Sidious swiveled in a twist of black fabric, caught Obi-Wan's blue blade with his red lightsaber, and flicked the weapon straight out of Obi-Wan's hand.

Sidious swept a hand in the air and hoisted Obi-Wan off his feet, crushing his throat under an invisible grip. Obi-Wan grappled at a hand that wasn't there and kicked his feet, to no avail. He reached for the Force, but only darkness answered him and crowded his mind.

"Kenobi," Sidious said, silky smooth and full of pleasure, "It seems you are somewhat capable of resisting due to your peculiar connection with Anakin. Maul said it might be so." He squeezed his fingers to his palm, and the grip around Obi-Wan's throat tightened. "Tell me: where is Anakin?"

Obi-Wan's vision darkened and only made the horrific visions and screams in his head that much louder. Sidious prodded at his mind through the Force, trying to break through his defenses, trying to find the information he wanted. Thankfully, even a holocron destroying Obi-Wan's mind wouldn't give away Anakin's location, because Obi-Wan didn't know it. Obi-Wan mentally pushed back just to make Sidious' life a little harder.

"Very well. You needn't tell me." Sidious relinquished his grip only enough for Obi-Wan to snatch a mouthful of oxygen. "Anakin is probably the only one capable of resisting, you know. Because he is already so intimately connected to the dark side. Dark or light makes no difference to him. So I will have to break him by some other means in order to control his mind. All I need is to lure him here."

The Sith Lord stepped forward, standing just out of Obi-Wan's reach. If he'd moved any closer, Obi-Wan would have kicked him out of spite.

"Anakin has gotten very good at hiding his presence from me. I wonder if he has done the same to you." Sidious grinned from ear to ear. "No matter. I have other means of sending Skywalker a message."

Sidious tucked away his lightsaber, slow and casual, as if he had all the time in the world. Then he thrust both hands out, fingers forward, and poured Force lightning into Obi-Wan. Pain flared through Obi-Wan from head to toe, like burning alive in a fire. Like Anakin had felt when burned alive on Mustafar. Obi-Wan screamed and his vision went black.

"Louder, Kenobi. I need Anakin to hear this," Sidious said in a wobbly, distorted voice. "I need your young apprentice to come running. I'll have to break his mind the old-fashioned way… and perhaps I will let you do the honors of torturing him." A mute chuckle. "Yes, I think that I will."

Obi-wan faded into the merciful quiet of the Force. Only, it wasn't merciful at all. Only darkness, nightmares, and violent images of death awaited him on the other side. Silently, as he slipped into treacherous oblivion, he pleaded for Anakin not to come back.


	24. Rise of the Empire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, all! Please enjoy~

Anakin woke early in the morning in a fair amount of pain. It ached at the back of his skull and radiated everywhere, sometimes dull, sometimes violently pulsing. He had a drink of water and popped some painkillers, but it didn't relent. Eventually, his stomach twisted in a knot. Something felt off, but he was so out of sorts from fever that it was hard to distinguish what or why.

Desperate to wear something other than someone else's spare clothes, Anakin peeked in the closet where he used to keep some of his garments. He was pleased and dismayed to find all of his belongings still there. He grabbed a comfortably dark tunic and pants and cleaned himself up in the refresher.

Padmé slept soundly. Anakin wanted to give her the opportunity to rest, so when the babies woke, he took them out of the room.

Both babies grumbled at him and didn't seem to appreciate his presence. Anakin pushed suggestions of comfort at them through the Force, but his usual effortless connection to the Force felt hindered somehow, like he had to trudge through thick sand to reach it. His throbbing head wore on him.

After minor effort, he was able to impress upon the twins peaceful suggestions. Once comforted through the Force, they perked up and had no issue with him. Anakin buried his lingering negative thoughts so they wouldn't burden the babies. The twins were Force sensitive and could probably pick up on his darkness.

3PO diligently trained him on every aspect of child-rearing, from diapers to baby food to bottles. Anakin changed them, prepared a meal of mush for them, and warmed a bottle for each. He sat on the sofa, a baby in each arm, not sure how to feed both, and then both babies grappled their own bottles and fed themselves. Both stared at Anakin, and he stared back.

After they'd eaten, Anakin put them on the floor to let them play with a few toys 3PO pulled out of a bin. The twins played with the toys for no more than a minute before both crawled in different directions. Anakin gathered one up and brought them back, only to lose the other. He herded them unsuccessfully several times, both giggling when he did, and finally gave up and lay on the floor with them.

Leia happily thumped at his chest with her little fists while Luke inspected Anakin's mechno-arm, which he hadn't bothered to cover. Both squeaked and squawked at him. Finally, Anakin hoisted Luke up and swayed him in the air, feigning flight, and Luke screeched with such delight that Anakin couldn't help but laugh. He set Luke down and did the same with Leia, and Luke was already climbing on top of him ready for another lift. When Luke had another turn, Leia crawled on Anakin and beat at him for her next turn.

They played that game until Anakin's arms ached.

The quiet rustling of fabric drew his attention around the sofa. Padmé watched them with a faint smile on her face, though she had her arms loosely folded at her abdomen, as if somewhat uncomfortable. She wore a light gown and had her hair straightened and fastened in a braid. Simple, yet far more put together than she'd been last night.

"I'm sorry," Anakin said, and he scooted the twins off him so he could sit up. "Did we wake you?"

Both twins let out an undignified whine at no longer playing the game. Luke crawled into Anakin's lap and looked up at him with big, watery eyes. His lower lip came out and quivered. Leia made a sound close to a sob and sat on the floor, her face all twisted in a grumpy pout.

Anakin's heart melted.

"No, you didn't," Padmé finally said, and she smiled.

Anakin almost smiled back. The ache in his head increased, and his stomach crashed so hard that it made him nauseous. The visions of Darth Vader crept back into his head even though they'd recently been so quiet and infrequent. They came, and he remembered why he shouldn't be there.

"I'm sorry." Anakin carefully moved Luke off his leg and to the floor.

When he rose, both twins let out pitiful little cries, not loud, but with very real and very large teardrops. Anakin started to crouch to console them but knew it wouldn't last—he would have to leave anyway, so why bother? Better to make the break quickly. He stepped away, and Padmé crouched by them. Both babies watched Anakin.

"You don't have to leave," Padmé said in haste, stroking a baby's cheek in each hand. Her eyes remained locked on Anakin.

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't. You belong here."

"I don't belong anywhere." Anakin made for the door.

"I didn't sign or file the documents," Padmé said, and her words halted Anakin with a hand extended to the door. She took on a fierce tone, one she often used in the Senate when she fought for something important to her. "I had them expunged, and because you weren't here in the past six months to declare otherwise, they've been marked as incomplete and void." Her voice tightened. "Whether you like it or not, you and I are still married."

Anakin's hand lingered in the air before dropping to his side. Oh, how he loved her. Padmé knew exactly what she wanted and allowed nothing to stand in her way of it. Strong-willed and powerful blended perfectly with passion and grace. He had been so lucky to have been in her company for as long as he had, to have known her as he did, though he had been so unworthy of her.

"Anakin…" Padmé spoke softly, and the twins quieted along with her tone. He told himself to leave, but his feet wouldn't move. "Anakin, you are still that warm-hearted boy I met on Tatooine… You are still the man I fell in love with on Naboo…" At that, she chuckled. "The man who couldn't for the life of him say something truly romantic and instead rambled about silly things, because you meant everything you said but couldn't properly express yourself. So unlike every other man I've met, the politicians, the nobility—people who speak with silver tongues to impress but never say anything honest."

Fabric rustled, and her light footsteps drew closer to him but halted at enough distance that he didn't flee.

"You are still that man who loves deeply… and yes, in another life, that love corrupted into something that blinded you, made you selfish, but that is not who you are today. If you were that man, you would be Darth Vader. If you were that man, Alderaan would have been destroyed. You've grown, Anakin. You've changed. You have learned to love deeply and selflessly."

Anakin shook his head as she spoke, but he held his tongue. He wouldn't argue with her and certainly wouldn't lash out at her. She didn't deserve that, and he'd already hurt her enough. What she thought was selflessness was merely him doing what he had to do to make amends. It was not selfless if he was merely repairing something he'd destroyed.

"Stop," Padmé said. "What you're thinking: stop. I know it isn't good. You're hard on yourself. Harder than you ought to be—"

"I need to go." Anakin opened the door and moved. His head, his thoughts, his body, all strangely numb.

"Anakin, I love you. I will always love you."

Anakin stepped into the corridor outside the apartment and let the door slide shut behind him. He stared ahead at the wall, the pulsing pain in his skull effectively scattering any thoughts he might have on the encounter. A dry cough drew his attention aside. Rex and a dozen other troopers gathered in the hallway, a few wearing their helmets but most without.

"I'm being monitored." Anakin felt no confusion or disappointment.

"Don't get a big head, sir," Jesse said, his helmet covering his face but his voice betraying his grin. "We're here for the babies."

Right. The twins were still being monitored until Sidious was dealt with. Anakin scrubbed at his forehead. Maybe he was getting a bit too self-centered again. Not everything revolved around him.

Anakin only nodded in response and started down the hall.

"Where are you headed?" Rex asked. He was one of the few who held his helmet at his side rather than wear it.

"To the Temple," Anakin said, and he rubbed at his head again. It really hurt. "Obi-Wan will be angry if I leave without a proper goodbye."

"I'd say, especially since he went through so much trouble to find you." Rex fell into step beside Anakin. "I'll go with you."

“Why?” Anakin raised an eyebrow.

“Not much else to do, sir,” Rex said with a shrug. “We’re waiting to get shipped off again. In the meantime, we’re just taking turns here.” He shot Anakin a smirk. “Besides, you don’t have a way to get to the Temple, do you? Didn’t someone give you a ride here last night?”

Anakin tripped over his boot and hastily corrected his footing. Right. Anakin had nothing to his name and had no easy means to get to the Temple. He didn’t even have credits with which to pay for a lift.

“Maybe I could use a ride,” he said as he adjusted the front of his tunic and looked at the ceiling, heat burning his cheeks.

Rex chuckled but was kind enough to shuttle Anakin without further comments. Anakin briefly wondered if Rex was monitoring Anakin until Obi-Wan would keep an eye on him. After all, as far as the Republic was still concerned, Anakin was a dangerous fugitive.

When they arrived at the Temple, they entered through the public entrance for verification purposes with the Temple authorities due to Anakin’s questionable standing. As they climbed the stairs, Anakin couldn't help but recall his vision of marching up those steps with Appo and the 501st, controlled against their will, to destroy the Jedi. It felt wrong having Rex at his side.

When they reached the top of the stairs, both halted.

Bodies lay strewn across the Way. Several members of the Jedi Temple guard had fallen. Their lightsaber pikes remained ignited in their hands, glowing off the walkway and casting terrifying lights over their masked faces.

"What in the…" Rex put on his helmet and drew his blaster. He and Anakin moved together, their steps light along the stone.

Anakin didn't need to check the bodies. A lightsaber had cut clean through them.

They pushed through the doors unhindered, only to find more bodies inside. Guards, Knights, and even a few Padawans. Death everywhere. Images flickered through Anakin's mind of a time when he'd done this—he had swept through the Temple and slaughtered everyone where they stood. Some had trusted him, and he used their momentary confusion to his advantage and killed them. That hadn't happened here. Every Jedi on the ground had their lightsaber in their hand.

Anakin's pain and nausea worsened, and the visions of his future self grew louder and stronger. He moved forward anyway. He stepped into the Great Hall to find more bodies. Rex drew up the rear and covered his back, scanning left and right. He said something into his comlink that Anakin didn't process.

Sidious stood at the end of the Hall with a black cloak twisted around him and a pleasant smile on his face. As soon as Rex noticed no other dangers, he aimed his blaster at the Sith Lord.

"I would have thought I'd see you sooner, my dear boy," Sidious said without an ounce of concern, as though being there was perfectly normal. Friendly as ever. He sneered, and the darkness inside of him showed. "It seems you truly have cut off your connections to the Jedi. Even your beloved Master." The twisted grin stretched wider and turned to something feral. "Otherwise you would have heard him scream hours ago."

A shiver swept through Anakin and spread bumps across his skin. The hairs on his neck stood on end. Obi-Wan.

"What have you done?" Anakin asked, and his rage trickled out. All reservations lost. He had learned nothing over the past six months.

"I've only done what I should have done the first time around. Although I suppose this is the first time around in this lifetime, isn't it?" Sidious sighed, and the smile diminished. As he was so apt at doing, he put on an expression of genuine hurt and concern. "I told you, Anakin. I would do even greater things this time. I wanted you by my side—I wanted you to make that choice. I have everything needed to end the war and bring peace to the galaxy."

"You will enslave everyone," Anakin said, and his words shuddered from fury. "You will kill everyone who defies you."

"With you at my side, of course." Sidious smiled again, light and airy.

Darth Vader marched through Anakin's mind. Anakin choked.

"Sir," Rex said, putting an immediate end to the visions that chewed through Anakin's focus.

Anakin shook the thoughts away. He had a job to do and could allow nothing to distract him from it. He reached out with the Force and drew the nearest dropped lightsaber to his hand, and he ignited the blazing green blade.

"Good, good," Sidious said, and the feral smile returned. "It seems you are still willing to kill. Feed your anger, Anakin. Use it. Make it your weapon. It is the very thing that sets you apart from the Jedi. Makes you stronger. Let go of their shackles around you and be greater."

"No," Anakin said.

Sidious' grin shrank. A light dimmed in his eyes.

"You will not have a choice," he said, with a harshness he had never directed at Anakin before, at least not in this lifetime. Yet something pleasant lingered on his tongue, something full of meaning. "My Empire has been born, Anakin. Even now, my enforcers take the Senate and establish my supreme rule. You had your chance to join me willingly, to perhaps retain your will—and your family. But no longer. You tried my patience too long."

Anakin glowered at him, but his mind locked on the mention of the Senate. What enforcers? Had the Separatists somehow invaded Coruscant? And how was Sidious standing in the Temple when Anakin knew Master Yoda and many other powerful Jedi were on site?

"Rex, warn the Army. Get your men to check on the Senate," Anakin said, and he never once allowed his eyes to move from Sidious.

"Sir…" Hesitation touched Rex's words.

"Your responsibility is to the Republic and the Senate, Commander." Anakin forced his tone to that of the general he'd played for three years, to the tone with which he'd commanded one of the most powerful and effective battalions in the Republic. Not because of his success, but because of the success of his men. They could be trusted. "Go. That's an order."

Momentary silence.

"Understood, sir." Rex's footsteps shuffled back to the door. Knowing him, he probably moved backwards and kept his blaster pointed at Sidious at all times. The door creaked, and Rex's presence vanished from the Hall.

"You're already too late." Sidious grinned.

"I'm nothing if not tenacious," Anakin said.

He took a few slight steps towards Sidious as he scanned the Hall for strategic purposes. One of the pillars and terraces had fallen. A battle had taken place here. Most of the other pillars, upper levels, and decorative statues remained intact.

"Very well." Sidious let out an exhale, as though weary, and he walked towards the stairs leading from the hall. His footsteps echoed in the vast room.

"Where are you going?" Anakin halted.

"To install my throne," Sidious said, and he glanced over his shoulder with a slight smile. He climbed the steps with vigor. "You are not my most pressing concern anymore, Anakin. You will submit soon enough."

As Sidious climbed the stairs, five robed figures descended them. Masters Yoda, Windu, Fisto, Allie, and Obi-Wan marched abreast down the stairs.

"Masters!" Anakin moved to block Sidious' escape, knowing their best bet would be to surround and overwhelm him.

Sidious paused on the stairs, and the Jedi Masters strolled right around him. They drew their lightsabers and ignited them, but they paid the Sith Lord no mind. Their eyes landed on Anakin. Their cold, empty, lifeless eyes. Breath ripped from Anakin's lungs, and his heart faltered.

"What have you done?" he asked, but the words barely squeaked out.

"What I should have done from the start. Why settle for Darth Vader when you can control an entire army of Force-sensitive slaves?" Sidious laughed and proceeded up the stairs. "I told you, Anakin. My aims are so much grander this time around."

"Masters!" Anakin took a slight step back. The Jedi Masters marched in perfect accord, step for step, and showed no expression of life at all. Mindless and numb; controlled. His voice broke as he said, "Obi-Wan!"

No reaction. Nothing, not even a blink.

"Be sure not to kill him," Sidious said as he disappeared. "And Kenobi, do try to keep his arms and legs attached. He is much more valuable with all body parts intact." His laughter echoed through the Great Hall.


	25. Flight from Coruscant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, always, for reading, my friends!!

All five Jedi Masters lunged at Anakin, lightsabers swinging.

Anakin fell back from their blades, and his heart raced. He would never defeat them. Not all of them together.

He dove to the side and engaged Fisto and Allie, separating them from the others with a barrage of quick but powerful swings. As he parried their blows, Yoda, Windu, and Obi-Wan swung from behind. Anakin ducked to avoid a strike, kicked at Windu's leg to no effect, and pushed outwards with the Force to shove them all away from him.

The Masters slid about a meter before all of them stuck out their hands and resisted his Force push with their own. Agonizing pain ran through Anakin's head as he gathered his strength and pushed harder. He would never overpower them, at least not without killing himself in the process. His heart thundered in his chest from the minor exertion.

Anakin gave a fierce shove against Yoda, Windu, and Obi-Wan but loosed his hold on Fisto and Allie. They closed in on him from separate directions, Fisto with a thrust and Allie with a slash that carried her full weight. Anakin flicked Fisto's blade away with his lightsaber and spun around. He used the Force to shove Allie several meters across the floor, and he ripped the nearest pillar down on top of her head. She swung her lightsaber to cut the stones, shielding herself, but it buried her anyway.

Fisto swung again, and the other three Masters broke free from Anakin's grip, flipped through the air, and slashed at Anakin. Not quite their usual fighting styles, but not without their usual speed and strength. Anakin Force pushed again, giving himself only space to catch one breath, and then Master Yoda appeared out of nowhere, hammering him with rapid stabs. While Anakin deflected Yoda's blows, Fisto swung, and his lightsaber clipped Anakin's back before Anakin could defend.

Anakin shoved them away, and another wave of pain and chills radiated through every muscle and bone. He ripped a statue off the floor and hurled it across the room, catching Fisto and Yoda off guard and slamming them to the other side of the room. The statue flew right back at Anakin and forced him to roll to avoid it.

Allie blasted out of her pile of crumpled stone and marched to rejoin the fight.

Anakin would never win. He had to get out of there. Figure out a different tactic.

He grappled four of the structural pillars and ripped them apart, dragging down the entire floor above them. He flung the upper level over the Masters. The Masters caught the falling stones and pushed them away, but the whole room collapsed around them.

Master Yoda and Obi-Wan managed to skirt the falling debris and assaulted him before Anakin could make it to the door. He pushed at them with the Force, but Yoda pushed back and halted Anakin.

Obi-Wan sprang at him with a quick thrust of his lightsaber, and Anakin managed to twist out of the reach of his blade despite Yoda's hold on him. Obi-Wan swung several more times. Each time, Anakin had to push with the Force to rid himself of Yoda's furious grip only enough to parry Obi-Wan's strikes. His body felt like stone and his muscles resisted every motion. In desperation, Anakin ripped down another layer above them, bringing more of the room down on their heads. Yoda's grip on him faltered.

Anakin lunged backwards to avoid a downward slash from Obi-Wan, but he staggered over debris. Everything swam around him, and he could barely see Obi-Wan in the haze of twisting light and shadows. Anakin rolled backwards, parrying another oncoming strike.

Anakin tried to push Obi-Wan back with the Force, but Obi-Wan answered with a push of his own before rushing him. Their blades met in brilliant flashes, blue against green. Master Yoda burst out of his stone prison, and the other Masters did the same. Anakin stumbled towards the exit, hoping to make a break for it. Fisto ripped a pillar down over him.

Anakin pushed the falling stone away while he deflected a few of Obi-Wan's furious swings, but a few chunks of stone slammed into him. He collapsed in the pile, bruised but not severely injured, and shoved the debris off. In the chaos, he'd dropped his lightsaber.

Obi-Wan dove through the cloud of smoke and swung his lightsaber straight down at Anakin. Anakin threw up his hand to deflect it with a push, but his energy faltered along with his focus, and the Force betrayed him. Obi-Wan's blade stopped anyway, centimeters from Anakin's palm. Every muscle in Obi-Wan tightened.

A spark of life ignited in Obi-Wan's eyes.

"Master…?"

Anakin gasped for air and crawled backwards over the debris to put distance between them, but Obi-Wan didn't cease his straining. Didn't cease pulling back the blade with which he would have harmed Anakin. None of the other Masters resisted like Obi-Wan—they marched towards them.

"Master!" Anakin tried to stand but staggered to one knee. Sweat poured off him, and his heart raged and blared in his ears. Sickening and dizzying. "Obi-Wan, can you hear me?"

Obi-Wan's foot slid forward as though against his will. As though two sides of him waged war against each other, and the side that didn't want to kill Anakin slowly lost ground. Anakin's stomach turned over at the sight of him and at the touch of the dark side that permeated the air.

Obi-Wan had learned to resist the dark side on Zigoola, but now the darkness swarmed him and tried to reclaim him. Anakin couldn't let that happen. He dropped his mental shields for the first time in over half a year, and he rammed so hard and fast against Obi-Wan's shields to leave no room for resistance.

He met none. The dark side did not hinder him, nor did Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan had never built walls against Anakin. Yet Anakin only found darkness on the other side. He felt the twisted nature of the dark side ripping through Obi-Wan's mind—and he understood that feeling. Felt the raw power. Felt tempted and disgusted at the same time. In this life, the disgust won.

"Listen to me, Master! Obi-Wan!"

Anakin rose on shaky legs and was forced to backpedal as the other Jedi Masters swung at him. He staggered over a fallen guard's body and kicked their lightsaber pike into the air, throwing it with the Force at Master Yoda to halt his forward progress. He slammed Windu, Allie, and Fisto away with another Force push.

Obi-Wan's resistance failed, and he dove at Anakin. Anakin reverse lunged and drew a fallen Knight's ignited lightsaber into his hand. He took Obi-Wan's blows and allowed his former Master to pummel him backwards out the door. Once he and Obi-Wan had passed through the entrance onto Processional Way, Anakin grabbed the walls of the Temple and dragged them down to block the doors, to halt the other Masters—at least for a while.

"Master, listen to me, please!" Anakin called out, and he pushed again with the Force to touch Obi-Wan's clouded and chaotic mind.

The mere touch drew up his own horrific memories of all he had done wrong in the past and all he would do. The dark side did not discriminate, and it clawed across their crippled bond and tore into Anakin's carefully maintained mind.

"Master!"

Obi-Wan slashed downward. Anakin caught the blade with his own but sank under the force of its weight. His arms and legs trembled. Obi-Wan hammered at Anakin, quick and furious. Anakin tripped over a body as he stepped backwards. He teetered over the edge of the stairs, but Obi-Wan's hand snatched the front of his tunic and held him. Didn't pull him back, but simply hung him in the air.

Another glint of light flickered through Obi-Wan's eyes.

"Master, snap out of it!"

Anakin used Obi-Wan's grip to haul himself away from the steps and grabbed Obi-Wan's shoulders, giving him a shake. As he did, he pushed through their fractured connection with every ounce of understanding he had about the dark side, his familiarity with it, and how it had nearly consumed him for the past six months. He shared how to differentiate, how to find clarity.

A familiar touch through the Force reached them, same as it had the day the vision first passed. Qui-Gon, silent but present, wrestled through Anakin to Obi-Wan and to the darkness that consumed his mind.

Obi-Wan blinked several times. His lightsaber fell from his hand.

"An…akin…?" he said, barely audible and without breath.

Obi-Wan's legs gave way, and he collapsed into Anakin's arms. Anakin dropped his borrowed lightsaber and fell to his knees to take his Master's weight. He'd scarcely landed when the stones at the collapsed entrance of the Temple shifted, the Masters working their way out.

Anakin didn't have the strength to fight them, nor did he think he could reach anyone like he had Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan's resistance and their connection helped—no one else would have both those things. Sidious wouldn't kill them, or so Anakin hoped. In the meantime, he had to get Obi-Wan out of there and figure out what had happened.

He slung Obi-Wan across his shoulders and tucked his Master's lightsaber into his belt. The Temple entrance exploded, and Yoda, Windu, Allie, and Fisto stormed through the resulting cloud of smoke and dust. Lightsabers shining.

"I'm sorry," he said to them in a puff of air. "I'll be back for you. I promise."

Anakin Force jumped down the steps and landed hard due to Obi-Wan's extra weight and his own failing strength. He jumped again into civilian traffic, then again into the nearest moving air taxi. He flung Obi-Wan into the back while he hoisted the driver out of his seat into the passenger's seat.

"H-hey!"

"I'm just borrowing it. Charge the Temple or the GAR."

"You can't—"

"You want to let me use this," Anakin said with a wave of his hand and a suggestion from the Force.

"I want to let you use this." The driver sat in his seat and frowned forward but said nothing more on the matter.

"Sorry."

Anakin raced the lumpy speeder to the Senate District. Several GAR vessels clustered around the Senate Building, and smaller ships shuttled between the various buildings to nearby transport carriers. Troopers covered the grounds. Anakin landed the speeder, dragged Obi-Wan out of the backseat, and ran for the nearest carrier.

"Commander Rex," he said to no one in particular, but he caught the attention of several nearby troopers. He choked for air. "Is Commander Rex here?" He had to be. Why else would the GAR be swarming the Senate District if not from Rex's warning?

"That way," one of the troopers said and pointed two carriers down, but he and several others raised their blasters at Anakin.

"Rex!" Anakin shouted.

He didn't know what was going on, but it couldn't be good. More troopers gathered with weapons aimed at him.

"General!" Jesse broke through the ring of troopers and waved them away. He took one look at Obi-Wan and then Anakin, his face twisting. "Are you all right?"

"Fine—the Jedi are coming. Sidious did something to them," Anakin said in haste. "We need to move now!"

"We know, sir." Jesse grabbed Anakin's arm and dragged him away from the wary troopers and towards Rex's ship. "Several Jedi attacked the Senate and then attacked us, too. Commander Rex arrived and told us to evacuate who we could. We managed to subdue the Jedi and have gotten everyone we could out alive."

"There's more coming," Anakin said between puffs for air. "Master Yoda and Master Windu—and other Masters." He staggered to the ship, where several of the 501st hurried senators and their entourages onto the carrier. He threw Obi-Wan to the floor inside the ship and leaned forward with his hands on his knees. A heavy fog dulled his mind. "Sidious is setting up his Empire, and the Jedi will enforce it. We need to get people friendly to the Republic out now. He won't spare them this time, not when he knows what the Rebellion can do to him."

A few troopers heard him and ran to another ship, shouting commands that Anakin didn't hear. He grabbed the wall for support and heaved in air, but he couldn't catch his breath. He shot a quick glance at Jesse, who crouched and checked on Obi-Wan.

"Padmé and the twins…?"

"Safe, sir," Jesse said. "We were with her, heard Rex's warning, and got them out before everything went down. They're around here somewhere."

Anakin sighed, and his legs wobbled and gave beneath him. He stared out the ship entrance at the troopers and senators running between ships. A streak of silver in the sky caught his eye. He barely had time to register it was a starfighter before it opened fire on the transport carriers and the people. Anakin lunged off the carrier and used the Force to rip a few bewildered senators off the ground and throw them into the ship, out of the line of fire.

Four starfighters circled above and then landed, one on each side of the grounds. Surrounding them. Master Yoda stepped out of the one nearest Anakin.

"Go! Go!" Anakin screamed at the people scurrying to ships.

He grabbed Obi-Wan's lightsaber and jumped off the ship, locking eyes with Master Yoda. Jesse shouted a command into his comlink, and several of the troopers shouted in haste, but all of the words faded into a dismal buzz in Anakin's ears. Two of the transport carriers took off while a few more ships carted more senators to safety. Master Yoda used the Force to pluck a small ship out of the air and hurled it towards the ground. Anakin caught it with the Force and set it down, allowing the people inside to escape. He closed his eyes and focused on the Force and the darkness consuming it.

Masters Yoda, Windu, Fisto, and Allie—he could feel them all, feel the darkness suffocating them. Anakin grabbed at them but could not stop their forward marches. Windu destroyed several speeders in his path. Allie sliced through an army of troopers that opened fire on her. Anakin had practiced this enough to give it one last, desperate attempt: he created barriers not around the ships, the senators, or the troopers but around the Jedi Masters. He caught them in a prison built by the Force.

Each of the Masters swung their blades against the walls he'd created, and Anakin felt each blow like an electric whip tearing through his flesh. He crumpled to his knee. Again and again they attacked the barriers, and then they lashed out with the Force. His barriers twisted and cracked.

"Let's go, sir!"

Anakin barely registered Rex's words. Rex grabbed Anakin's arm and hauled him towards the ship. Vaguely, Anakin noticed most of the other ships had lifted off the ground. Rex and Anakin boarded, but the ramp remained lowered as all the troopers crouched at the opening with blasters leveled on the Jedi Masters.

Master Yoda broke through his barrier and held out a hand. The ship lurched and drifted backwards towards the ground. Anakin crawled forward and stuck out his flesh hand. Through the Force, he caught Yoda's invisible grip on their vessel and twisted it, pushing it back, freeing them from the steely grip. Yet three others joined it and overpowered Anakin.

Anakin ripped several of the statues surrounding the Senate Building out of the ground and hurled them at the Jedi Masters. He tore off the spires around the Senate Building's dome and threw them, too. The Masters easily evaded, but their grip on the ship relented. The vessel pulled away from the sprawling city and towards the freedom of open space.


	26. Old Friends and Enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, commenting, kudosing, and all the things you do. You are THE BEST!

Light covered Obi-Wan on all sides, soft and warm. So familiar, the comforting and supportive hold of the Force. He stood in its presence wearing his physical body, and he frowned at his hands that shouldn't have existed in that place.

Something tapped at his instincts, and he turned in the endless white to find Qui-Gon. His Master looked the way he had on the day he died, his back straight, arms folded loosely in front of him, a pleasant smile on his face.

"Am I dead?" Obi-Wan asked, though a wellspring of relief and joy bubbled out of his heart.

"No, but why does everyone assume that whenever they see me?" Qui-Gon took a mock tone and added, "Oh, look there, it's Qui-Gon. I must be dead."

"Master, _you're_ dead."

"Clearly that's never stopped me before." Qui-Gon smiled, and he looked Obi-Wan over. "Not much of a gangly boy anymore, are you?"

A touch of affection touched Qui-Gon's words, so familiar and so missed. Obi-Wan smiled in return. The grin faltered as he took in their surroundings, clearly the Force, but it permeated Obi-Wan so intensely that it was unlike anything he'd experienced through meditation.

"Master, what is this? How are we speaking like this?" He frowned and folded his arms into the sleeves of his robes.

"Anakin let down the barriers between the two of you. I'm reaching you through him," Qui-Gon said, and as though that weren't a topic of great interest, he rubbed at his beard and looked around in the white space. "It's absolutely astonishing, his connection to the Force. What you or I would strive to accomplish in our entire lifetimes, he can already access. It flows through him like his own blood."

Anakin let down his barriers? Qui-Gon must have noticed his surprise and offered Obi-Wan the faintest grin.

"You became a Sith, Padawan, and Anakin had to save you."

Obi-Wan clasped at his chest. In the Force or not, his heart stuttered. He had never—would never—bow to the dark side. Qui-Gon stroked his beard again and chuckled behind his hand. The laughter danced through his eyes. A joke?

"That's not funny, Master."

"All right, not a Sith, per say," Qui-Gon said, and he set his hands on his sides. "Darth Sidious has used the holocrons and a powerful weapon to amplify the dark side's energy across the galaxy. Most Force-sensitive beings have fallen under his control. You were no different until Anakin intervened. It gave you greater control."

Obi-Wan ran a hand over his face and paced a small circle. His mind raced over his most recent memories, including a Council meeting regarding Anakin and the Death Star. Sidious had marched on the Temple alone. The last thing Obi-Wan recalled was the vicious burn of Force lightning through his body.

"Anakin resisted?" he asked. Anakin had been through enough with the nightmares in his own mind. He didn't need the influence of the holocrons beating him further down.

"With minor ill effects, yes." Qui-Gon said. "The effects of the dark side are very much like a powerful drug. Strongly addictive and quickly tolerated, thus most dark-side users must feed the darkness and eventually spiral into more horrific acts to get the same feelings of power. Anakin seems to have maintained his tolerance."

"Comforting, but not really." Obi-Wan ran his hands over his face again. "None of the other Jedi are able to fight it?" Qui-Gon shook his head. "Would Anakin be able to share this experience with others to free them?"

"I doubt it. I think your close connection with him makes the difference. That and the fact that you've also experienced his life through the vision of the future. Your connection with him is far more intimate than most." Qui-Gon frowned. "I truly hadn't tried to do that, by the way, though it seems the Force had greater purposes. Your close proximity and close connection with Anakin, coupled by my own connection to the two of you, seems to have caused a bit of an error."

Obi-Wan stared. Qui-Gon had instigated the vision? Qui-Gon was the reason for the mess—and for the reason Anakin was still with him. Of course it had been Qui-Gon. The touch when the vision had passed had felt so familiar. Leave it to his former Master to bend every rule of logic.

"An error?" Obi-Wan crossed his arms and frowned at his former Master the way he had on many missions. Same as he had all those times Qui-Gon went about things in an atypical, unconventional fashion and yet somehow managed to always succeed. "Speaking as if sharing all my life experiences with Anakin, and vice versa, is an insignificant error."

"My, a little defensive, aren't you?" Qui-Gon grinned again. "Have much to hide?" When Obi-Wan glared, Qui-Gon chuckled. "You should be glad for the error, my Padawan, or you would very well be a Sith Lord right now." Lifting his chin at Obi-Wan, he added, "You are welcome."

Obi-Wan laughed to himself and shook his head. How very like Qui-Gon. He wished he could enjoy this moment to the fullest, to stay here for hours or days, but he still had other concerns. He met Qui-Gon's gaze, and all of the smiles and laughter melted away.

"What can you tell me about this weapon?"

"Unfortunately, nothing. I'm not omniscient, Obi-Wan, though my ability to travel has been made easier without a physical body." Qui-Gon sighed. "I can only go where the Force is in a state of balance. Because of Darth Sidious, the dark side has grown far stronger than even the future we've seen. The Force… is suffocating. I can't travel far, and I can't see much."

"What can we do?"

Qui-Gon smiled, but it was a tired smile. The words about to leave his mouth troubled his heart.

"Anakin must defeat Darth Sidious, but he won't succeed so long as he remains trapped in his self-doubt and self-loathing. He needs you to speak with him, Obi-Wan. Yours is the one voice he might listen to."

"I know," Obi-Wan said. Even in the Force, he felt the weight of this burden. It was something the Force did not intend for him to forget or let go.

"I know you know, but I wonder why you haven't done it yet." Qui-Gon frowned.

"Master, you know me. I am not like you—or like Anakin. Words like that don't come easy to me."

"Then it is time for you to become the Master. Anakin still needs you," Qui-Gon said, not unkindly, but Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel chastened. Qui-Gon's tone softened further, but that only made his words hit that much harder. "He was not ready, Obi-Wan."

"He was ready for the war," Obi-Wan said as if to excuse Anakin's urgent promotion to Knighthood. His shoulders sank as he let out a long breath. "I know, Master."

Master Yoda had also wanted Anakin promoted precisely because of the war. No one could argue that the boy had and always would be an effective warrior. But war was not a Jedi's intended purpose. That was partly how Sidious had managed to orchestrate their undoing, by stretching them thin across the galaxy fighting a war they shouldn't be fighting. What else could peacekeepers do during a time of war but try to fight for peace?

Another way Sidious had played them right into his hands. Had played Anakin right into his hands.

Obi-Wan scrubbed his face and swept both hands through his hair. Lethargy grappled at him and weighed on his heart. Such a difficult thing, to love someone.

"Is this all you came here for? To criticize me after over a decade?" Obi-Wan put on a frown and glowered at his former Master. One of the few whom he loved—he blamed that on Qui-Gon, who had never been much for aloofness. In that way, he was very much like Anakin.

"It seemed like fun," Qui-Gon said with a warm tone and smile full of subtle affection. His expression softened. "He needs you, Obi-Wan. You need to open your mouth—and your heart."

Obi-Wan sighed, but he smiled in return.

"It is not the Jedi way."

"Bah." Qui-Gon waved a hand in the air. "Nor is it the way to the dark side, is it?"

No. For someone like Anakin, or even Luke, an open heart led to goodness and redemption, not destruction. If that was the only way to reach Anakin, so be it.

Qui-Gon closed the gap between them and placed his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulders, firm, tender, familiar, and warm. His grip tightened, and a severe expression crossed his face. Qui-Gon struggled on his words, as though searching for the perfect ones.

"Have you always been this short?" he asked, and Obi-Wan rolled his eyes to the imaginary sky over their heads. Qui-Gon chuckled and tightened his grip. "Obi-Wan, my dear Padawan… I am proud of you. I am not sorry for the trials you have faced, because they have transformed you into a most brilliant, capable, and compassionate man. My only hope for you is that this future be brighter than the last—that you are able to reclaim this future from the dark side. I have done all I can for you."

"You have done enough." Obi-Wan gripped his Master's arms. "You gave Anakin back to me."

"See? Say things like that. He'll hear you." Qui-Gon slid his hands down, patted Obi-Wan's arms, and released him. "Now go."

Obi-Wan smiled. He stepped back, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes to sink deeper into the Force.

When next he opened his eyes, he stared at a glaring silver ceiling and had a throbbing headache. He winced and tried to sit up, but his muscles screamed in defiance and he flopped down on a cot in a small medical bay.

Turning his head, he found Anakin, his head down and pillowed by his arms on the side of Obi-Wan's cot. Padmé set a blanket over Anakin's shoulders. She froze when she saw Obi-Wan, and concern mingled with fear in her wide eyes. Obi-Wan pushed up on one elbow, and Padmé straightened, a tentative hand on Anakin's shoulder.

"Are you… all right?" she asked, and the equal parts concern and fear made it from her eyes to her voice. Her hand slipped from Anakin's shoulder to his side—to the lightsaber attached to his belt.

"I'm not under Sidious' control," Obi-Wan said, and he forced himself upright despite a jolt of pain through his spine from his head to his feet. From Force lightning—because that's the last thing he recalled.

No. After that, he remembered almost killing Anakin.

"Are you okay?" Padmé asked, and all traces of wariness vanished, replaced by her usual compassion and warmth.

"I'm not dead." Obi-Wan ran his hand over his face and across the back of his head. The ache faded to a dismal throbbing. It could be tolerated.

Anakin, on the other hand, had lost all trace of color in his face aside from red across his cheeks—the way he looked after abusing the Force's power. Or, at least, abusing his body through such unconventional uses of the Force.

"He doesn't look well."

"He's not. He was bleeding," Padmé said, and her voice cracked. She composed herself as she brushed Anakin's hair out of his face. "The medics tried to get him to rest, but he insisted he had to stay by your side in case you lost control again."

"Where are we?"

"Tatooine."

"Tatooine?" Obi-Wan's mouth hung open. He shook his head. "What in the world are we—" and he waved his hand to mean the collective three of them, "—doing on Tatooine?"

"It's not just us. The entirety of what remains of the Republic-favored Senate is here, along with several battalions of the Grand Army." Padmé locked eyes with him. "We fled, Obi-Wan. Palpatine has created the Empire. He overpowered the Senate and has used the Jedi to strong-arm the Separatists into submission—those that didn't willingly leap to join him, anyway. Most of what remains of the Senate readily joined him, too. It's all over the HoloNet."

"They're afraid of the Jedi," Obi-Wan said as he considered falling under Sidious' control. "Just as they feared the army in the future. Fear motivates them."

"Not all of them. Some people merely like to be told what to do." Padmé brushed at the wrinkles in the front of her gown. Rather plain garments compared to what she normally wore in public, as was the braid in her hair, but he doubted she'd had time to prepare. "I think it will actually be a good thing we're here. It will give the entirety of this Senate an idea of what goes on in the places where no one is looking. Places where good people… are forgotten." Her eyes rested on Anakin.

"The slaves are gone, thanks to Anakin. The Senators will only see the former slave owners now. I wonder if they'll do much to represent the good people." Obi-Wan tossed the blanket aside and slipped his feet over the edge of the cot, careful not to disturb Anakin. He was tempted to put Anakin on the cot, except it would probably wake him.

"Obi-Wan," Padmé said, and a chuckle tumbled off her lips. "Tatooine is run by the former slaves. They came back and bought out all their former shops. They've apparently taken over all of the major spaceports and settlements."

Obi-Wan stared. Her words bobbled around in his head several times.

"All of the former slaves have been very vocal about what Anakin did for them even though many still have no idea who he really is," Padmé said. "They still think he's a mysterious stranger in a black mask."

"Unbelievable." Obi-Wan rubbed his forehead. "Does Anakin know?"

"Not yet."

Padmé looked at Anakin and smiled. So much love filled her eyes that Obi-Wan almost felt like an intruder to see it. She shook her head and turned as though to leave before she faced Obi-Wan again. Unspoken conflict waged in her eyes. She turned aside to a bundle of clothing—presumably extras for Anakin to replace the blood-stained garments he now wore—and withdrew Anakin's lightsaber.

"He'll need this," she said, and she turned the weapon over in her hands several times. "I know that he'll need it." She set the weapon on the bed beside Obi-Wan. "He might be willing to receive it if it's from you…"

"I'll give it to him." Obi-Wan nodded. He smiled at Padmé, grateful to her and her love for Anakin. "Thank you."

Padmé smiled, and she seemed to understand he meant more than just the lightsaber.

"Anyway," Padmé said, "if you're feeling up to it, you should join us outside. There's someone you'll want to meet before she… before we lose her."

Obi-Wan frowned at the statement, but Padmé didn't elaborate. She merely waved her hand for him to follow and disappeared from the room. It took a while for Obi-Wan to muster the motivation to follow her. The pain had dulled but continued to radiate through him, a reminder of Sidious' torture before he'd succumbed to the holocrons' influence.

Obi-Wan rose and put all the pieces of his wardrobe back together in the proper fashion. He clipped his and Anakin's lightsabers to his belt and made his way out the ship. Shouts echoed from outside before he even hit the landing ramp. He flinched at the glaring sunlight and shielded his eyes.

When his eyes finally adjusted, he blinked several more times to ensure he saw correctly. Ahsoka marched in his direction, led through a crowd of senators and clone troopers by Padmé. Many of the troopers held their blasters at Ahsoka's back, yet they maintained distance. At first, Ahsoka carried herself with strength, a scowl on her face, and then she staggered and clasped a hand on her head. The troopers behind her took a stance as if to fire.

"Ahsoka, are you all right?" Obi-Wan jogged down the ramp but stopped a short distance from her. Padmé held Ahsoka's arm.

"I'm… all right for now," Ahsoka said, though she puffed for air. "I'm glad you're awake. I was beginning to think I'd lose it before I could speak with you."

"Lose…" Obi-Wan grimaced. "The holocrons—they haven't taken control of you?"

"Not yet. Something to do with Anakin, I think." Ahsoka wanly smiled and rubbed at her head. Pain flashed through her eyes and her grin turned into a grimace.

Her bond with Anakin had the same effect as with Obi-Wan. To a certain degree, at least.

"When the vision passed, did you see Anakin's future as if it was your own?" Obi-Wan asked.

"His future?" Ahsoka frowned and shook her head. "No… Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

"Ah!" Ahsoka grimaced and clutched her head. Her focus remained on Obi-Wan. "I needed to do this in person, because otherwise, I didn't think you'd believe it. When the holocrons activated, I went looking for the source, and I found someone who can help us."

Padmé frowned, as did many of the troopers. Not exactly the reaction Obi-Wan expected.

"You won't like it," Ahsoka admitted. "And it's probably a trap, but any information is better than no information. And I can't help but believe him."

Ahsoka turned and waved at a line of troopers behind her. Several more shouts erupted from displeased troopers. They parted, and Obi-Wan's breath caught in his throat. He reached for his lightsaber even as Ahsoka stuck out a hand to pacify him.

Maul walked towards them, hands innocently on his head, with a swarm of armed troopers behind him.


	27. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onward!! Thanks for reading, friends~!

"Kenobi," Maul said, a tremor of pleasure running through the word.

"Ahsoka, what is this?" Obi-Wan asked. Familiar rage bubbled up inside of him, but he pushed it away. He could not let his emotions rule him, particularly with this adversary.

"I gave him my word that he can come and go without repercussion, unless he tries something. Don't make me a liar," Ahsoka said, still waving a hand in Obi-Wan's direction to pacify him.

It took a moment longer for Obi-Wan to drop his hand from his lightsaber. He wouldn't do that to her, though Maul didn't deserve the consideration. If he reneged on his end of the bargain, Obi-Wan would have no qualms about putting him down.

"Why would you help us?" Obi-Wan asked the former Sith apprentice—or current Sith apprentice. He couldn't keep track anymore.

"As I said, we're all playing at our own little games. And an enemy of my enemy is my friend." Maul's sinister grin faded, and rage flashed through his golden eyes. "I may want you dead, Kenobi, and I will see that through, but Sidious has become a bit of a problem for me."

"Strange. I thought you were on his side." Obi-Wan folded his arms at his chest.

"Games, Kenobi. I play my games, he plays his." Maul huffed at him, as though Obi-Wan should know all the gnarled, messy plans in his mind. "Normally, he's a means to an end, but right now, his plans put me on the line as much as the rest of you."

"What plans?"

"His weapon," Maul said, and he tipped his head and cast shadows over his eyes. Sheer, raw hatred roiled inside of him and gushed out like a cloud of the dark side. "You have only seen the start of what he is capable of and what he plans to do."

"Where is this weapon?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Mustafar. Sidious built it in a cave. It's a location deeply bound to the dark side and fiercely powerful. The perfect location for his weapon."

Obi-Wan found himself with no reason not to believe Maul. The cave existed. Darth Vader knew of it and built his castle on it because of its raw power and deep connection to the dark side.

"The weapon you've seen, enslaving the Jedi—it's just the beginning," Maul said. "Sidious sent out a call for all your mindless Jedi to join him on Mustafar. I guess he needs them closer for his next move to be most effective."

"It already has—"

"No, not the mind control. Forget the mind control, it's just the start. He needs to make sure he keeps you all submissive before he implements his next step," Maul shouted, his fury rising. Obi-Wan could feel it like fire that seared his skin through the Force. "Other holocrons—many others, they do different things. His real weapon, the one you should worry about, it will absorb power from Force-sensitive beings. Leave the host alive but depleted. He needs the midi-chlorians, he needs your bodies, but they're just vessels while he siphons their strength."

"That isn't…"

Possible? Obi-Wan didn't know what to say. On a small scale, such a thing could be done. Severing one's connection to the Force had been done, and legends told of Sith doing so to fuel their own power. But to build it into a weapon and do it on a massive scale… it had never been done before. It couldn't be believed… could it?

"Why are you telling us this?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Because I want Sidious dead, and if he makes himself into an all-powerful, omnipotent embodiment of the Force, he'll become untouchable. Not even your precious Chosen One will be able to stop him." Maul snarled. "And no one is exempt from this weapon. Not you, not your Chosen One, and not even me. We're all going to become blundering puppets of Sidious while he gains immortality and all the powers of the Force."

Obi-Wan turned simply because he couldn't bear to look at him anymore, but he staggered at the revelation.

It made sense. Sidious had tried to corrupt Anakin’s mind in an effort to enslave him, but not because he actually thought Darth Vader a possibility. No, he wanted Anakin weakened so he would submit to mind control--so that Sidious could ultimately protect the body and midi-chlorians of the most powerful Force user in the galaxy. So that he could take Anakin’s power for himself.

Obi-Wan halted and returned his glare to Maul.

"If you are so concerned about this happening, why don't you kill Sidious yourself? You are the closest to him."

"Not close enough. Not yet. If I had the opportunity and thought I would win, I would. But he is stronger than ever. I have no false illusions of being victorious. My best opportunity is to stay close and strike when he least expects it," Maul said. "I'm not throwing that away."

Fair enough, but Obi-Wan didn't openly acknowledge that and instead glowered at Maul, hoping to pressure him into more information, if he had any. But Maul hadn't been with Sidious in the future. Questions about the weapon and its location might be better placed elsewhere.

"When?" he finally asked.

"Soon. The Jedi are already en route to Mustafar." Maul shrugged. "That's all I know. Do what you want with the information."

"Thank you, Maul," Ahsoka said, softly and sincerely.

Maul tossed her a haughty look, let out a puff of air, and spun to march away. Several troopers caught him by the arms as though to restrain him and, surprisingly, he didn't resist. The blasters aimed at him probably helped tame him.

"Don't." Ahsoka stepped forward, but she wavered and clasped at her head again. Wincing, she held her free hand towards the troopers. "Please. He came at great risk and shared information with us."

The troopers eyed Ahsoka, but none of the men belonged to the 501st. None claimed loyalty to her.

As much as Obi-Wan hated it, Maul came under truce and had done nothing to harm them. Furthermore, if Ahsoka had promised his freedom, Obi-Wan couldn't well go against her word and feel satisfied with it.

"Let him go," he said. He waved at the troopers, and they in turn stepped away from Maul and lowered their weapons.

"See you on Mustafar," Maul said to Obi-Wan over his shoulder. The words came without so much as a smile or a gleam in his eyes. Just a cold, hard statement. He shoved past the clone troopers and stalked away.

Ahsoka watched him go, and then she curled in on herself and groaned, clasping at her head with both hands. The troopers surrounded her.

"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said, but she waved a hand to stop him from saying more.

"It's okay. I was expecting this." She looked to the men. "Take me and lock me up. I'll behave—at least for now. If I get a little crazy, just knock me unconscious, would you?" As she followed the troopers, she paused and passed a faint smile to Obi-Wan. "Tell Anakin… I'm sorry. I did what I could."

"And it was more than enough. Thank you, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said.

He watched them lead her away, likely to a containment prison on a ship. Hopefully, the prison would secure her from whatever negative effects Sidious' weapon had on them. Obi-Wan wondered if some sort of joint meditation might help bring her back and gain control, but he'd tried every technique of his own on Zigoola to break from the holocrons and failed miserably.

Anakin's influence might help, but Obi-Wan doubted it. Anakin would have to share his entire past and future story with Ahsoka, including all of the nuances that Anakin probably didn't even realize existed that came with his memories to Obi-Wan. To replicate that would be near impossible.

And time-consuming, and time was not on their side.

Padmé's gaze followed Ahsoka as she was taken away and then slipped to Obi-Wan. Agony consumed her delicate features and devoured the light normally so prevalent in her eyes.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

Obi-Wan had no answer for her. He had no solutions. If what Maul said was true, they would soon run out of time. Sidious had already enslaved every last Force-sensitive being in the galaxy, and soon he would steal their power to become the most powerful being in the history of the universe. A staggering and utterly horrifying thought. They had reclaimed Anakin from the future and yet lost everything else, and Sidious positioned himself in such a way that no one, not even Anakin, could oppose him.

How could the future have changed so much and yet so little? How could they have found such light, and hope, only for the darkness to win?

Obi-Wan shook his head.

"I'm going to make sure Ahsoka is properly taken care of. See that she's treated well," Padmé said after taking a deep breath. She dipped her head at Obi-Wan and departed.

Obi-Wan ran his hands down his face and let out a long breath. He turned to the ship where Anakin remained. Though Obi-Wan had no brilliant plans, he knew one thing for certain: Anakin would have to fight. He would destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force, as the prophecy foretold. All roads led them to the same path.

Even though the path was dark and horrendous, bent on seeing the Jedi and Republic destroyed. How much of the future had been the will of the Force and how much had been an anomaly created by the dark side?

And what of Anakin's future? In the alternate future, he died. The end of Sidious and the Sith meant the end of a need for Anakin. What would the Force do with him once he'd accomplished the task for which he'd been created?

Anakin's life as a slave taught him that if one did not perform, they were not necessary. Sidious had fed into those beliefs, and Obi-Wan cemented them on a black-sand beach on Mustafar when Anakin failed and Obi-Wan left him to burn.

What if, in a terribly dark and twisted way, the Force viewed him that way? If he no longer had a Sith to destroy, would the Force deem him no longer necessary? Was Anakin's death at the same time as Sidious coincidental or the will of the Force?

The Force could not be so cruel, but Obi-Wan shuddered. For one brief moment and for the first time in his life, he wondered: what if it was?


	28. The Perfect Slave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, all! Have a great one~

Anakin didn't know how long he sat on the floor in front of Ahsoka's prison. Didn't know how many times he tried to break through the formidable wall that consumed her mind and tried to replace it with every single memory he thought might be useful to her—to help her understand the dark side so that she could be free of it.

She never responded. Not even a glimmer of life.

They'd had her sedated when she'd lost control. When she became a mindless puppet of the dark side. When she became a walking corpse to do Sidious' bidding. When she suffered and Anakin couldn't do anything to help her.

Anakin didn't know how long he was there, only that when Obi-Wan and Rex each took one of his arms and hoisted him off the floor, Anakin's muscles screamed in agony at the movement. The world spun circles around him. Anakin let himself be dragged only because he couldn't bother resisting. He turned back anyway. Over his shoulder, Anakin watched Ahsoka fade from view.

Again. Always.

Obi-Wan and Rex hauled him back to medbay and set Anakin on a cot beside the wall. If words were exchanged, Anakin didn't hear them. Rex left at some point. Anakin only realized Obi-Wan was still in the room because he dragged a chair close to the cot and sat, unleashing a sigh. A sigh of displeasure—disappointment in the situation? In Anakin?

Anakin swallowed hard and blinked away tears that stung his eyes. Ahsoka deserved his tears, but Anakin didn't deserve to let them fall. He was the reason she suffered. He was the reason everyone suffered, because he was the reason Sidious wasn't dead.

"How many more people are going to have to suffer?" he muttered into the deafening silence. Visions of Darth Vader leaped to his mind after they'd been quiet for so long. He flinched against them. He was letting them in—he realized that now. But he deserved them. "I should have stopped him. It shouldn't have gotten this far."

"You are not to blame for Sidious' actions," Obi-Wan said, quietly—tiredly. He leaned forward in his seat and folded his hands under his chin.

"Yes, I am. It's my job to stop him. It's what I was made for." Anakin hung his head. Flames from Mustafar danced through his memory. A terrible black suit stole into his mind. Something he had rightfully deserved in another life—and still did.

No matter how much progress he thought he made, he always fell short. He had found a way to spare Leia and Alderaan, and Sidious took the Jedi instead. Sidious took the Jedi and destroyed the Republic because he'd distracted Anakin, and Anakin fell for it like he always did. Everything from the future was falling into place: the Empire, the destruction of the Jedi, the enslavement of the galaxy. The only person who seemed to benefit from the vision and escape from harm was Anakin—and he didn't deserve it.

"We need to hit him hard." Anakin rose from the cot and moved towards the door, but his legs wobbled underneath him. He had lost a decent amount of blood again, or so they told him. Chills rattled up his spine, and he wound his arms around himself and leaned against the wall for support. "We can send in a distraction while the bulk of our forces locate the weapon and destroy it. That will free the others and weaken Sidious."

"Whoever goes in first will be killed," Obi-Wan said. Anakin felt his glare but didn't look at him. "It's certain death against the full power of Sidious, the Jedi, and whatever forces Sidious has manipulated to his side."

Anakin stood straight and forced his muscles to obey. He blinked several times to clear his vision. Everything continued to blur. Once he got moving—once he really focused in the Force—nothing would stop him. That was what the Force had originally intended for him in the future, anyway. The will of the Force was for Anakin to give his whole self to stop Sidious.

"I'll do it," he said, and he realized how self-destructive it sounded only when he felt a pulse of hot frustration from Obi-Wan that his former Master didn't bother to conceal. Anakin added, "Sidious doesn't want me dead. He'll do whatever he can to keep me alive. Meanwhile, the rest of you can—"

"Out of the question."

"Why? If we strike now, we have a chance at ending this. Once everyone is free, we can take Sidious together," Anakin said. "What do we have to lose?"

"You, Anakin. We have you to lose." Obi-Wan rose. His face tightened and his eyes burned with quiet frustration. He dragged in a long breath and let it out. "And though you seem to think you're expendable, I'm not opting for a tactic that willingly hands you to Sidious."

Obi-Wan flinched as he said the words, and he turned away from Anakin.

"That isn't what I meant." Anakin huffed.

He paced to the other side of the small room and back again. The short trip left him breathless. His teeth chattered as another round of chills swept through him. Nuisance of a fever! He considered grabbing the blanket off the cot, but Obi-Wan would only grumble at him for it.

"Sidious is destroying people. He's made everyone slaves, and he'll keep doing it until he's stopped." Anakin's voice trembled along with his useless muscles. He wanted to blame the fever for his emotions running pathetically high, but they always ran high. Because he couldn't control anything. Because he couldn't do things quite right, no matter how hard he tried. "It's my job to stop him, and I will. Nothing else matters."

No more needless sacrifices. Padmé, the Jedi, the Republic—they suffered only because of Anakin's poor choices, present and future. Anakin was the only sacrifice the Force ever truly intended. Anakin and Sidious together.

"You matter, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, slowly. "Not because of your duty, not because of the prophecy— _you_ matter." Obi-Wan took a step towards Anakin but halted at a slight distance. "I know you want to defeat Sidious, but you are more than just the Chosen One, Anakin. To Padmé and your children, to Ahsoka, to your men, to the Order, to the Republic… to me. You matter. You are not a tool meant to do a job and then be thrown away."

A shudder went up Anakin's spine and a breath caught in his throat. Qui-Gon had said similar things. But Anakin didn't view himself as a tool. He didn't view himself as worthless. Perhaps he had at one time in his life, as a slave. As a slave, disobedience meant destruction. Failure meant punishment or death. But Anakin had been free since he was nine.

_…have you ever felt good enough?_

Qui-Gon's question hammered into Anakin's mind, again and again. Each time Anakin heard it, he envisioned one of his many failures. His mom, the slaves, Padmé, the Republic, the Jedi, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, the whole of the future—his list of failures was endless. Every time he failed, he _knew_ he wasn't good enough. It wasn't a matter of what he felt. He was born for one thing and one thing only, and he couldn't do it. It didn't matter if he was Jedi or Sith, he failed either way, and everyone suffered because of it.

Anakin wasn't good enough.

"I am glad for your concern for others, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, and his voice was tremendously soft. Softer than Anakin had ever heard it. "But you need to understand the difference between selflessness and self-destruction. And the only way you can do that is to understand how much you are worth. If you hear only one thing I say, let it be this: you matter."

Anakin stared at the gray wall. His vision blurred with tears that he tried to blink away, but they defied him. He didn't know why. Silly words—they were just silly words. But Obi-Wan didn't say silly words. He didn't say things like this, and Anakin didn't know what to do with it. He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. Everything hurt. He closed his eyes against the tears.

"My head hurts," he said, and his voice cracked.

"Sit down. You aren't well." Obi-Wan took Anakin's elbow and guided him towards the cot, and Anakin shuffled along without resisting.

"Just this stupid fever." Anakin sat on the edge of the cot and bowed his head.

"You overdid it again," Obi-Wan said, and he sighed. There it was—the disappointment. "The holocrons probably aren't helping."

"They shouldn't be affecting me at all."

"You aren't immune to the dark side."

"I should be."

Obi-Wan sat on the edge of his chair, folded his arms into his sleeves, and stared at the floor. Silence fell over them, normally comfortable, but nightmares continued to claw into Anakin's head. He knew they haunted him because he let them, but he didn't know what to do to stop them. He'd tried to be better, to make amends. He wanted to do what the Force wanted, but he couldn't.

"It seems you think you should be a lot of things, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, quietly.

"I should be better." Anakin’s voice broke and betrayed him. "I have one job, Master, and I can't even do it. We even had a second chance, and everything's going back to that terrible future, no matter what I do. The Force tried to let me fix it, and I couldn't do it. I'm tired of not being enough."

Anakin ran both hands over his face to wipe away tears and then covered his eyes.

"Anakin—"

"Don't," Anakin said in haste. His lungs tightened in his chest and stole his breath. Everything hurt. "I know what you're going to say. Don't. I know. I already know. I—"

"Anakin, I'm sorry." Obi-Wan spoke firmly, but his words dripped with emotion Anakin had never heard in Obi-Wan's voice—no, he'd heard it once. On a black beach on Mustafar in another life.

Anakin let his hands fall from his face. Obi-Wan had hunched forward and folded his hands in front of his mouth. He took a deep breath and met eyes with Anakin—and Anakin couldn't look away. Pools of emotion, of grief, of sorrow, stirred in Obi-Wan’s eyes, to the point he looked close to tears.

"Anakin, I am sorry I ever let it come to this," Obi-Wan said. "You blame yourself for things you have no control over, and yet you completely disregard legitimate mistakes made by others. You hold yourself to impossible standards—"

"They're not impossible, Master." Anakin maintained eye contact, refusing to look away or back down. Refusing to let Obi-Wan make light of this or take blame for something that had nothing to do with him. "I'm the Chosen One. I was made by the Force to do one thing. What if the Force intended for me to defeat Palpatine when I was nine? What if I was meant to destroy him right away? What if I've just been making mistake after mistake for the past thirteen years, and because of me, millions of people have had to suffer and die?"

"What if Sidious is to blame?" Obi-Wan asked, his tone clipped with anger—and sorrow. "What if, instead of blaming a nine-year-old boy, we blame the man who willfully manipulated and deceived the entire galaxy? What if, instead of blaming a youngling, we blame the adults who didn't protect him from the Sith Lord in the first place?"

"I was closest to him." Anakin shook his head. "I should have known—"

"No, Anakin, you shouldn't have known—you _couldn't_ have known. He barely tried to deceive the galaxy and succeeded, but Anakin—he tried with you. He got close to you, he learned your weaknesses, and he used them against you. His approach to you was intentional and personal. That's why it worked."

"I was a fool." Tears relentlessly crowded Anakin’s eyes despite his best efforts to blink them away. He didn’t know why.

"No. You were a child," Obi-Wan said. "I was the fool. It was my responsibility to protect you, and I didn't. I gave you to a Sith Lord instead."

"It doesn't matter, Master," Anakin said, and he shook his head against Obi-Wan's efforts to take blame. Words from a conversation between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon in another life jumped to mind, readily accessible from his list of reasons he'd failed. "You said it yourself—I was a Jedi. I was trained. When Sidious revealed the truth, I was an adult. I should have known better. I screwed up."

Obi-Wan stared at him. Stared through him. He wavered on the edge of his seat, swallowed hard, and blinked hard.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, and he reached across the slight space between them and gripped Anakin's upper arm. "Anakin, that's not how abuse works."

Anakin's heart stuttered, and his breath caught in his throat.

Abuse? He'd been deceived like everyone else. There was nothing unique about his situation. Palpatine had never laid a hand on him—he'd been a friend. He'd lied, but his lies had been packaged in kindness. There was nothing abusive about it. Sidious had praised him and encouraged him when no one else did. He'd been his confidant in everything: the Tuskens, Anakin's marriage to Padmé, his concerns about the Jedi, his insecurities—Anakin stopped.

The more Anakin had trusted Palpatine, the less he had trusted anyone else. The less he trusted the Republic, the Order, and Obi-Wan. Until Anakin had no one left. Sidious had played so many games with him for so long. He'd pulled strings—subtle strings, but strings nonetheless. Anakin had played along—he'd let him. As a child, as an adult—he let him.

"I wasn't…" he said, but the words died on his lips. He had let Sidious play games with him, because Anakin didn't realize he was being played. "I didn't… I wasn't…"

"Oh, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, full of grief, and a watery shine lit his eyes. "You truly have no idea what he's done to you, do you?"

"I should have known better," Anakin said without strength.

 _You are not a slave anymore_ , Qui-Gon had said, because Anakin still acted like one. Because Anakin had still let Sidious lead him wherever, a puppet on strings, and Anakin never even noticed. He let him because he didn't know. He was a slave and he didn't know. He'd been isolated from people who actually cared about him, and he didn't realize. He'd been puffed up and beaten down, and he didn't realize. One of the most brilliant but wicked men in the galaxy had gone out of his way to fill Anakin's head with fear, hate, and anger—and Anakin never realized, and he let him, and it worked.

Anakin Skywalker, the perfect slave, from birth to death.

"I should have known better," Anakin repeated, but his voice broke and tears spilled down his face.

"No, Anakin," Obi-Wan whispered. His grip on Anakin's arm tightened, and he leaned closer. "Because when someone does that to you, it isn't your fault. You may have made terrible choices, but a deplorable man did horrible things to you that lead you there. He groomed you, he manipulated you, and I let him. That is _not_ your fault."

Anakin's head swam.

"I am sorry," Obi-Wan said with such grief. So much emotion. He reached across the divide and wrapped Anakin in both arms. "I am truly sorry, Anakin."

Anakin stiffened, his breath strangling him. Obi-Wan believed that Sidious had hurt Anakin. That somewhere in all of the games, Anakin had been a victim, too.

_You are not a slave anymore._

Anakin had been such a fool. He was a stupid fool.

Something inside Anakin broke as realization settled deep in his heart and in his bones—that he had never been free.

Anakin broke down and wept. He buried his face against Obi-Wan and wrapped his arms around him, holding tight. Obi-Wan only returned the embrace that much tighter, his hands steady on Anakin, his breathing steady—steady. One of the few things in Anakin's life that remained steady, no matter what. Anakin was a disaster, and Obi-Wan didn't let go.

Obi-Wan never had, had he? Even in the future, even after Anakin surrendered to Sidious and did horrific things, Obi-Wan still loved him. He had loved him enough to come for him after death, to make a way for them to be together again.

Anakin had believed such foolish things for so long—he was such a fool.

"I'm sorry, Master," Anakin said into Obi-Wan's shoulder, and he wept. "I'm so sorry."

"So am I." Obi-Wan brought a hand to the back of Anakin's head, warm, comforting, and steady. "So am I."


	29. To Be Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all SO MUCH for reading and supporting this story. You truly are THE BEST.

"We're going to split into two teams, one as a diversion force and one to destroy the weapon," Anakin said, his voice booming to the crowd gathered on Tatooine.

They'd used the communication system from the ship and an assortment of comlinks to create a loudspeaker to reach everyone present. Troopers, senators, and civilians shuffled closer, and the audience grew. The general unease of the group grew, too—Anakin felt ripples of concern through the Force.

"The Sith cave where Darth Sidious has his weapon is on the Gahenn Plains. An entire civilization used to be built there, but it was buried under the plains when disaster struck Mustafar." Anakin swallowed hard and maintained a confident voice even as the growing unease of the group made his stomach turn over. "Ancient waterways and sewers used to run through the plains. Two such tunnels still exist and have fairly accessible openings that can get us close to the cave without notice. One is about two klicks south. The other is about eight klicks north."

Several of the troopers exchanged glances, and murmurs spread throughout the audience. Anakin felt the wave of concern through the Force. Not fear, necessarily, but not confidence, either. Obi-Wan set his hand on Anakin's arm, and Anakin blocked out the wary feelings of the people. They were deserved.

"Er… um… How did you… happen across this information?" asked a helmeted trooper. He shuffled in place after a nearby trooper elbowed him. "Sir," he added.

Anakin focused on Obi-Wan's hand still gripping his arm, centering him. Anakin had the information because Darth Vader had the information. Vader had built his castle on the plains because the cave housed a locus of the dark side. In that lifetime, Vader had searched every nook and cranny of the surrounding plains to ensure no liability existed—to ensure no one had a way to harm him.

Anakin's lack of an answer stirred more muttering.

"The information is good," Obi-Wan said, taking the comlink from Anakin that would spread his voice to the masses. "Anakin will lead a team into the tunnels to reach the cave—we assume that is where Sidious will keep his weapon. I will lead the surface force. Our goal is to distract Sidious and the Jedi until the weapon can be dealt with and to save as many lives as possible."

More muttering and anxious shuffling. Anakin wasn't a Jedi anymore, and he wasn't a general anymore, either. He was a wanted fugitive. Still, the lack of faith in him stung. It ached in a sad, childish sort of way. He did not belong.

Rex and several men from the 501st gathered near the front of the heap of crates Anakin used as a makeshift stage. Rex glanced at the audience, folded his arms at his chest, and frowned. Most of the men with him did the same, and Anakin wasn't sure what to make of the expressions.

Bail Organa and Padmé stood near them and exchanged frustrated glances. Queen Breha was with them and had Leia and Luke in her arms. Both babies cried, no doubt suffering the effects of the holocrons. Anakin hurt for them—they would suffer a horrible future if he failed. Breha bounced the twins and turned to leave, and two civilians moved with her—Owen and Beru?

"Well, sir, it's just…" said another trooper, and he hastily put on his helmet as he spoke. "He's not a general anymore, sir. And he was… you know…"

"A criminal. We were hunting him," another trooper added. He didn't bother to hide behind his helmet.

"The situation has changed," Obi-Wan said, tersely, but that only resulted in more muttering.

The audience stirred. Many of the senators engaged in heated dialogue with the troopers until their anxious conversations grew to a dull roar. Anakin deserved the distrust, but for once, all he truly wanted to do was help. He wanted to stop Sidious and make things right again.

"Enough!" Bail said from the crowd, and his voice commanded silence even without a loudspeaker.

He stormed to the pile of crates and climbed to join Anakin and Obi-Wan. Bail flapped his hand at Obi-Wan for the comlink, and Obi-Wan handed it over with a genuinely perplexed expression. The tightness of Bail's jaw and the fire in his eyes intensified the knot churning in Anakin's gut.

"Enough," Bail muttered to himself, and he spun to face the people. "Fellow senators, servants of the Republic, and citizens of Tatooine… Are we not better than this?" His tone sharpened and stabbed through everyone listening.

Obi-Wan's eyes went wide, and Anakin swallowed hard.

"Our Republic is falling apart, and a megalomaniac has taken control of the Senate and the Jedi Order, and we are here worrying about a boy who stole from pirates and set slaves free?" Bail's voice rose with emotion, and his frown deepened. "A boy who served the Republic as a Jedi for over a decade and who fought in the war for three very long years. A boy, I might add, who did only what the Republic should have done in the first place."

"Senator," Anakin said, not willing for Bail to sacrifice his good standing with the Senate by speaking on his behalf. Bail waved him away. "Senator Organa, please—"

"Quiet," Bail said, firmly, and shook a commanding finger at him. Anakin took a step back and stood straight, arms rigid at his sides, suitably chastened. Bail returned his attention to the people, who stared at him in befuddled silence—also suitably chastened. "We do not have time to question loyalties and place blame on each other. We have done that for long enough, and this is where it got us. A mastermind, a Sith Lord, turned the people of the galaxy on each other, and the end result was our own destruction. Enough. We clear the air now, and then we move forward. We must move forward."

Silence answered Bail. He looked over the crowd—really looked at them, as though trying to meet as many pairs of eyes as possible. He took Anakin's arm and hauled him to the front of the makeshift stage, presenting him to the people.

"Do you see this boy—this young man?" Bail asked. Anakin would have slithered backwards if not for Bail's hand on his back. "I have no doubt you know his face, or you wouldn't be muttering like school children right now. Most of you know Anakin Skywalker as the Hero With No Fear. Many of you now know him as the masked man who freed slaves." Bail let his hand fall, offered Anakin a quick and indiscernible look, and returned his attention to the crowd. "I think many of you now also know him as Darth Vader."

Anakin's heart leaped into his throat and died. He wavered, the world spinning. He shot a glance at Obi-Wan, who stood stricken, wide-eyed and stark white in the face. Anakin's eyes slipped to Padmé, who offered a slight shake of her head. This wasn't planned. The muttering resumed. More people gathered and exchanged looks with each other.

"Enough," Bail said, once again taking a stern and commanding voice, and immediate silence followed. His brow furrowed. "So you've heard the rumors and followed the HoloNet. I suppose you think that makes you informed. But how many of you can personally say you know this young man?" Bail's eyes swept the crowd, and no one answered. "How many of you were aware that before he was Darth Vader, a vigilante, a war hero, or even a Jedi… he was a slave?"

Tears stung Anakin's eyes. He stared at Bail, stricken. Of course Bail knew—he spoke often with Padmé and Obi-Wan. Bail seemed to have come to terms with Anakin's future as Darth Vader, and someone may have told him of Anakin's past to make him more sympathetic. But nothing good could be gained from announcing it to the galaxy. Nothing. Anakin trembled, blaming the nuisance of a fever.

"Before you go about wagging your tongues, take the time to listen." Bail set a hand on Anakin's shoulder, and it had a strangely calming effect. "For nine years of his life, this young man knew what it meant to be forgotten by the Republic. He knew what it was to be hungry, tired, and abused… to be someone else's property."

Bail scanned the crowd, and his grip on Anakin tightened.

"There is no excuse for Darth Vader, I assure you. I'm not advocating for ignorance. However, given a lifetime of tragedy, I know many others in our galaxy would make the same choices as Darth Vader. One need only look at the number of pirates and brigands to see that our galaxy has a way of turning people cruel. Desperate people take desperate actions." Bail took a deep breath and spoke with some semblance of calm. Fierce, but confident. "I had a glimpse of that desperation. Palpatine threatened Alderaan. I swear to you, I would have taken the law into my hands and executed Palpatine on the spot if it meant saving what mattered to me. That desperation exists in all of us, and when it is fed and manipulated for too long, it will consume us."

Terrifying silence answered him. Anakin quivered with frustration. Words could paint things so pretty. Even if Sidious had manipulated Anakin, even if Anakin's life as a slave had negatively impacted him, Anakin had still made the choices. He was without excuse, and beautiful words shouldn't be allowed to detract from that truth.

"Darth Vader existed because of tragedy and many wrong choices." Bail firmly gripped Anakin's shoulder. "But in this lifetime, Anakin Skywalker made a different choice. He recognized the errors that led him to that path and chose a different future. Darth Vader does not and will not exist."

Something in Anakin snapped. He had made a different choice, but that didn't negate the things he'd already done. It didn't change the fact that a little bit of Vader would always exist in him. He stepped forward, and the crowd's collective gaze swung to him instead of Bail. Words slipped out before Anakin thought them through.

"Darth Vader does exist. You can't pretend he doesn't."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said from behind with a sharp bite. "Get back here."

"Skywalker—" Bail's eyes went wide, equally surprised.

Anakin choked, stunned he'd spoken and even more stunned at the wide eyes of Bail and Obi-Wan. But lies had brought them here, and lies had brought them to a cruel, dark future. Deceit could not and should not exist if they were to truly move forward. No more lies, no more manipulations, no more masks. Everyone needed the truth.

"I wish I could tell you I chose a different path. But the truth is that I've been on a path of darkness for a long time." Anakin swallowed hard and struggled to force the words out. He was close enough to Bail that his words reached the comlink—he heard the echo through the loudspeaker. "When my mother was tortured and murdered by Tusken Raiders, I…" He had to say it. They deserved to know what was already inside of him. "Enraged, I slaughtered their entire village, even women and children who could not protect themselves."

None of the senators or troopers moved, but the civilians muttered and nodded. Tuskens were not highly favored on Tatooine, but that did not make his actions right.

"During the war," Anakin said, "I used violent tactics to interrogate enemies, and I killed when it wasn't necessary—just because it was easier. And even now, very recently, when I had to choose between saving Alderaan or my daughter…" Anakin met Bail's eyes. Bail had seen Alderaan saved but hadn't seen Anakin's indecision. "For a moment, I almost sacrificed an entire planet to save Leia."

Bail didn't react and held Anakin's gaze. Anakin turned his attention back to the crowd.

"You can't forget Darth Vader. He still lives and breathes inside of me. He just doesn’t wear a mask anymore." Anakin hung his head and took a deep breath to steady his voice. He lifted his head. "And if I'm being honest, while I don't agree with an Empire, I don't really agree with the Republic anymore, either."

Another wave of murmurs erupted, but Anakin spoke over them.

"I don't agree with a law that isn't enforced. I don't think it's okay to turn a blind eye on people who are hurting because it would cost you something to help them." The words poured out, and so, too, did emotions Anakin didn't realize he'd pent up for years. "As a slave, I asked a Jedi if he'd come to set us free. He said no. The Jedi Order didn't care I had been a slave, didn't care that anyone on Tatooine was a slave. Neither did the Republic. No one cared that we existed, because it was too impractical, too difficult, and too costly to save us. I don't agree with the Republic or the Order anymore." Anakin turned to the side so he could meet Obi-Wan eye-to-eye. "Because even when I was a slave, I mattered."

Obi-Wan's expression softened and his shoulders sank. His lips quirked up in a weary smile. Familiar warmth shone through his eyes.

"I don't mind if you hold Vader against me," Anakin said, facing the audience. "I don't mind if you hold me accountable for pirating and setting slaves free. I did it. I'll accept whatever fate you intend for me. Put me in prison if you must." Anakin swallowed hard, straightened his back, and stood tall, without fear. "Because if you don't, when this war is won, I'm going to do it again. I'll look for the people who are forgotten and help them. And yes, it will be at the expense of others. I'll do it until the people in power do it themselves."

The civilians whooped and clapped, and several troopers scurried over to silence them with frantic waves of their hands. Anakin recalled yet another one of his failures as Vader that he would rectify.

"I'll do the same for the clone troopers. I will see to it that they don't fight unless they want to fight. If they want to abandon your army because the Republic isn't worth fighting for anymore, I will personally help them escape. I don't care how they were born, where they were born, or what status they had after their birth. They are alive, and they matter."

Stunned silence answered him, and no one moved. Not Anakin, not Bail, and not a single person in the crowd. As though time itself had stopped.

"The Republic has always made great claims. I only wish it would follow through with them. If you do not stand for something, without wavering, without compromising, you will not stand at all." Anakin hesitated. "I should know. I'm living proof of what happens when you fall."

Anakin returned to his former position, but he stared at his feet. The silence grated on his nerves. He'd disrespected Bail by interrupting him and trampled on his efforts to aid him, but the truth mattered. Anakin dared to look up, and Bail considered him before eyeing the crowd.

"Fellow senators of the Republic," Bail said, his voice booming and strong, full of confidence, "I think we have much to learn from Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin frowned and blinked several times. Bewildered. He wavered on his feet. Bail's hand found his shoulder again and steadied him.

"Without a doubt, even in this lifetime, he has erred. He has made mistakes. He is not perfect, as we presume of Jedi. He is not the perfect general or the perfect man. He is flawed—he is human. And it is because of those things that I implore you, do not fail to listen to him."

Bail met eyes with Anakin, patted his shoulder, and dropped his hand to his side. He swept his eyes over the audience, his focus intense. He had such presence and yet made it feel as though he noticed everyone in the crowd, as individual people and not nameless faces.

"Here is a man who has stood in the space between—between us and the Jedi, between us and the Sith, between us and the forgotten—listen to him. Let us not turn a deaf ear or a blind eye any longer. We have done so for long enough," Bail said. "We as a people, as a Senate, as a Republic, have grown complacent in our comfort. We feel secure on our home planets while people in the Outer Rim and other far-off places are dying because we don't hear them. Palpatine found and exploited a very real weakness." He waved his hand towards Anakin. "Do you hear him?"

Unnerving silence answered.

"How many children grow up as slaves on Tatooine because it would inconvenience us to help them?" Bail took a deep breath and had to collect his own emotions. Pain rippled through his eyes. "What if they were your children? To what lengths would you go to see them freed? Why is it we cannot do that for someone else's children? Even when it is right? When it is the law?" Bail shook his head and exhaled a long breath. "Anakin Skywalker should never have had to free slaves. He simply did what we should have done long ago. Where is our sense of justice, and when did we go so far astray?"

Senators in their dazzling clothes shifted and averted their eyes. Several heads dropped. These were the senators who still believed in the Republic—who hadn't completely fallen for Palpatine's manipulations. These were the ones who might still stand up and fight for justice.

"Time is short, my friends," Bail said, his tone dropping, calm and neutral. "Palpatine—Darth Sidious—is very near to overthrowing us. We are all that remains of the Republic-favored Senate. We don't have time to fight amongst ourselves, and we don't have time to condemn a young man for a future that hasn't happened. Not when he intends to prevent that future." Bail faced Anakin. "Skywalker, would you fight for us? Would you accept the rank of General and serve again in what remains of the Grand Army of the Republic and fight to rid us once and for all of Palpatine?"

Mind blank, Anakin stared at Bail.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan whispered. "Say something."

"Ah." Anakin shook away his bewildered stupor and hastily shifted to nodding his head. "Yes, of course. Of course I would. I want to defeat Sidious more than anything else."

"Good." Bail turned to the people. "Does anyone have legitimate cause to reject this?" He folded his hands in front of him, straightened his back, and squared his shoulders. The perfect presence of power and grace. A few heads shook in response to his question. "Good. Then as is the case in any true democracy, I propose we vote. If someone would be so kind as to count raised hands, we'll do this the old-fashioned way and deal with the formalities later. I motion for Anakin Skywalker to be absolved of guilt for his crimes as Darth Vader, as the masked vigilante, as a soldier at war, and as a man. Furthermore, I motion for him to be reinstated as General of the Grand Army of the Republic, effective immediately. All in favor, raise your hand and say 'yea.'"

Silence permeated the air and smothered them. Anakin's stomach dropped, and a sense of dread gnawed at his insides. No one spoke in his favor. He hadn’t expected otherwise, but if the troopers wouldn’t listen to him and Obi-Wan was forced to go after Sidious alone--

"Yea," said a woman towards the front of the crowd, her green eyes blazing with fiery determination. Senator Mon Mothma, a close ally of Padmé and Bail. She raised her hand.

"Yea." Padmé stepped forward alongside Mothma.

And then it happened in a slow wave. The senators around Padmé and Mothma spoke in favor of the motion and raised their hands. Then the next row of senators, then the next, until a vast majority of the crowd spoke their agreement and raised their hands. The troopers had started shuffling through to count, but they stopped and looked at each other and Bail in confusion. Not sure if they needed to count or if it was obvious enough.

It was obvious enough.

Many of the civilians raised their hands and threw in their shouts of "yea," and they cheered. Jesse and Coric raised their hands and shouted in agreement until Rex elbowed them in the sides. Even so, Rex met eyes with Anakin, a slight smile on his face.

Anakin's eyes stung as he scanned the countless hands in the air. As he heard their declarations. To be absolved of his crimes, both present and future. As Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. To be free.

"Majority of the Senate rules," Bail said, and his voice boomed with relief and conviction. "Effective immediately, Anakin Skywalker is absolved of his crimes and restored to his place within the Grand Army of the Republic."

More cheers erupted. Those civilians certainly made a lot of noise. Some of the troopers joined in. Bail smiled at the crowd and then faced Anakin. The smile did not diminish.

"Welcome back, General Skywalker," Bail said. "Now go do what you are best at doing." Slightly, his tone softened, and he wore warmth on his face and bore conviction in his words that stirred Anakin's resolve. "Set us free."


	30. Assault on Mustafar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, friends!

Anakin scanned the lava rivers carving through the blackened surface of Mustafar. He and troopers of the 501st soared over the scorched surface in a gunship. Several other gunships followed, bringing the rest of Anakin's men and two other companies now under his command.

They'd parted with Obi-Wan and a majority of the troops well beyond the atmosphere. Anakin would need a little more time in the tunnels before Obi-Wan led his strike. They had a lot of ground to cover. Anakin and his men had one task: find and destroy the weapon. Once the Jedi were freed from Sidious' influence, they would cooperate to take the Sith Lord together.

That was the plan, at least.

"There," Anakin said, and he pointed to where he thought the tunnel began.

Heaps of twisted rock covered the surface, so they had to land the gunship over a klick from the entrance. Two rivers of lava crisscrossed near the opening—that's how Anakin remembered the location. They traversed the obsidian ground, and his men went to work blasting away the surface rocks to reveal a clear tunnel underneath.

Strange. Anakin hadn't thought the entrance would be so close to the surface.

Once the path was open, the leadership of Anakin's team gathered. Anakin switched his comlink to reach everyone.

"Alright men, this is it," he said as he paced a line in front of them. "We go in, we strike hard, and we take down Sidious or die trying."

He softened his voice but kept a hard edge to it, a combination of strict leadership and understanding. He needed them to hear both.

"This mission is dangerous. This is the enemy's heart—their lifeblood. We're in their territory now. I have no doubt each and every one of you would march in there boldly and lay down your life for the Republic." Anakin scanned the faces of the men as he passed. Strength and conviction ignited in their eyes. "Yet I will not command you to do so. You are not a slave, and I am not your master. Our worth is the same. And so I give this allowance: if you are afraid, or if you have lost confidence in this war or in the Republic, if this is not worth your life… get back on the gunship and leave. I will not hold this against you. It is your life, so choose for yourself."

The commanders of the battalions glanced at each other, but otherwise, not a single trooper looked aside. Rather, the whole army at Anakin's command stood straighter and held their heads higher. Anakin had expected as much.

"Very well." Anakin resumed pacing. "You all have your orders and your roles. Know them well. But also know that you have minds, so use them. If circumstances change, change your tactics." He paused in the center of his line, faced his men, and folded his hands behind his back. "I expect you to fight like there's no tomorrow, but don't throw your lives away. Take risks, but don't be foolish. If you find yourselves in an impossible situation, get out. Try something else. You were not made to die, so do everything you can to live. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" said a chorus of troopers.

"Good." Anakin switched off his comlink and moved to the commanders of his three teams. "Bly, Wolffe, you know what to do. Cover this entrance at all costs. When I give the signal, follow us and cover the rear. Rex, you're with me."

"Understood, sir," Rex, Bly, and Wolffe said.

"Let's move!"

The three companies separated, and Rex and a bulk of the 501st followed Anakin into the tunnel.

Anakin drew and ignited his lightsaber for a source of light. The energy hummed and vibrated through his hand. Obi-Wan had returned the weapon to him, and Anakin had taken it with some trepidation. He would need it against Sidious, Anakin had no doubt, but it was a source of destruction and death. A source of suffering, yet it felt right in his hand. Anakin wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Troopers turned on their headlamps, and they proceeded together. Dead, dry air greeted them in the tunnel, along with the bitter fragrance of sulfur that stung Anakin's nose and crept all the way to his throat. He paused in the relative darkness of the tunnel and faced his men.

"We have a lot of distance to cover and not a lot of time. I'll lead and stay alert for trouble. The rest of you, keep my pace," Anakin said.

He sprinted through the darkness and used the Force to guide his feet and prevent him from stumbling over jagged rocks and twisted holes along the floor. The thundering footsteps of the men behind him echoed off the rock walls and rattled dust and slivers of stone from the low ceiling. Once or twice, Anakin had to duck to keep from smashing his head on low-hanging rocks. Once or twice, Anakin heard someone's helmet thump off the rocks he'd managed to evade, and he winced each time.

The deeper they got into the tunnel, the less the heat permeated. It almost felt a little too cool for Anakin's liking. An explosion echoed far above them, and the rock walls around them shuddered and spilled sooty dust on their heads. Anakin paused, and Rex drew up alongside him.

"Either Obi-Wan is having some fun up there or something's happening," Anakin said. He worried about the men he left behind, but he'd specifically brought along two experienced teams to cover their backs. They had to be able to focus.

"My hope is for something fun, sir," Rex said. "But forgive me for not being terribly optimistic."

"Let's stay vigilant."

Anakin moved forward, winding through tunnels that grew wider. Three or four troopers in full armor could walk abreast. It definitely hadn't been this open when he'd discovered these tunnels as Vader.

"Something isn't right," Anakin said, slowing his sprint to a cautious walk. "Someone's been down here."

"Look, sir." Rex aimed his light at one of the walls and pointed at a smear of black on already dark stone. Something had cut away the rock with expert precision, leaving charred remnants.

Metal knocked against stone ahead of them and echoed through the tunnel. Anakin held his hand up to silence his men, but most had already stopped at the sound. Lights erupted around a bend in the tunnel. A battle droid appeared with a brilliant white lamp, and several other droids strutted behind it.

"Hey," said the droid with a start, and it stuck up a hand at them. "You aren't supposed to be here!"

Anakin lunged forward and cut the droids apart before they could alert anyone else of their presence. Unfortunately, a small army of droids waited on the other side of the bend. Several of the droids gave a shout of surprise. Anakin dove through them, hacking and slashing them apart. Some he lifted and flung into the walls with the Force. Others he crushed. One he yanked towards himself and kicked into the rock wall. More and more appeared.

Blasters fired from behind Anakin and took down several droids, but the droids were endless. Destroyers rolled around another bend and threw up their shields. A hand grabbed Anakin's arm and ripped him backwards and out of the droids' line of fire. A wave of troopers stepped forward and took his place.

"Rex, I have to—" Anakin shook Rex's hand off his arm and moved to rejoin the fight, but Rex grabbed his other arm and dragged him back.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Of course, Rex. You know you can."

"Then blast it, General, get out of the way."

Anakin blinked. And then blinked again.

"It's difficult to shoot around you. We're hindered back here," Rex said. "And your priority is Sidious. If you waste all your energy here fighting a bunch of clankers, you won't be at your best facing him."

"But…" Anakin sank. Rex spoke truth, but that didn't make it any easier to hear. He was used to leading the charge. That was his job.

"You asked me to trust you, sir, and I do." Rex let go of Anakin's arm. "But now I need you to trust us."

"I do trust you," Anakin said. He trusted Rex and all of the 501st with his life.

"Good. Now get behind us and let us do our job. You can count on us to get you to Sidious." Rex nodded and rose.

"Rex," Anakin said, halting him. "Don't get yourselves killed."

"Wasn't planning on it, sir." Rex stepped forward and waved his hand in the air to the men behind him. "Let's go, boys! We have some clankers to clear out! Stomp 'em!"

A shout of sheer pleasure emanated from the troopers behind, and they rushed after Rex. Blaster fire illuminated the tunnel on and off in sporadic bursts. Sparks and embers shot into the air as droid heads and limbs flew and ricocheted off stone walls. Several troopers rolled EMP grenades into the shields of the destroyers and zapped them. Troopers blew them apart.

Without Anakin in the way, the troopers moved fast. They made quick work of the droids and left a graveyard of parts in their wake. A voice broke over Anakin's comlink as he followed the destroying force of the 501st.

 _"Sir, we've been found out. We have an army of droids closing in on us from every side. Not just small fry, either,"_ Wolffe said.

Sidious knew about the cave, so of course he'd investigated the tunnels as well. Maybe they hadn't been set up, precisely, but Obi-Wan's distraction clearly didn't cover three companies flying in on several gunships. If the droids broke through into the tunnel, they'd be trapped from both sides.

"Fight if you can and cover that opening," Anakin said. "But if things look bad, bury the tunnel with whatever you have and get out of there."

_"Bury it, sir? You're inside."_

"We'll find a way out. Don't worry."

_"But sir—"_

"That's an order, Wolffe!"

 _"Yes, General."_ Wolffe's voice cut out under an explosion.

Anakin worried for them, but he pushed his fears aside. They had orders to escape if they needed. He told them to leave if the situation looked bleak. He had to trust, to hope, they would make those tough decisions to protect their own lives. He had to hope they believed they were worth it.

Either way, they wouldn't be getting any backup.

Rex and the troops pushed through wave after wave of droids. The blaster fire finally died after a long journey through the tunnel. Explosions rattled the rock ceiling over their heads, but far away—they were deep underground. The troopers split up and lined the walls to allow Anakin to pass ahead of them. Rex stood at what appeared to be a doorway. Anakin didn't remember any of this.

"You'll want to see this, General," Rex said.

Anakin passed him and stepped through a cleanly hewn doorway into the vast cave illuminated by lava. It had the feel of the original cave—this was definitely it—but it was much deeper than before. Several doorways had been carved into the walls and gave way to various passageways. Nothing like Anakin had seen in the future. A structure like a tall tower stood in the center of the chamber. Various lights blinked on computers affixed to the structure's base. Several larger lights illuminated the chamber, though shadows still lurked along the rock walls.

A familiar Parwan tapped away at one of the consoles with his back turned to them.

"You," Anakin said, and the word dripped off his tongue with scathing animosity. He marched to the computer with troopers flanking him.

Gubacher jumped at the noise and swiveled on his tentacles. He let out a shriek and reached for a blaster on the console. Anakin grabbed him with the Force and hoisted him into the air.

"S-Skywalker," Gubacher said with a skittish laugh. His tentacles flailed. "Have you come to kill me? I heard you gave that up."

"You're lucky I have or you'd already be dead." Anakin flung the Parwan to the floor at the feet of the troopers. "Arrest him."

"You're too late!" Gubacher laughed again, though this time with greater strength, with confidence. "You can't stop it now."

Two troopers hauled Gubacher aside and restrained his arms. The Parwan cackled anyway. Rex stood alongside Anakin.

"Is this the weapon?" he asked.

"I think so."

Anakin scanned the tower. Lights flickered at various intervals across its surface, with wires running from the consoles on the ground floor all the way to the peak. More wires ran from the top of the tower to the ceiling, where they vanished. Something glowed red at the top. The holocron.

"At last, the final piece of the puzzle has arrived," said the voice of Sidious.

He appeared through a hole in the wall at the top of the cavern and stood on a narrow shelf of rock. He jumped to the tower. Several troopers opened fire before he landed, but Sidious swept his lightsaber from his shroud and activated it while still in the air. He swung the blazing red blade and deflected the blaster bolts. When he landed, he waved his free hand upwards and hoisted all the troopers off their feet.

Anakin pushed at Sidious with the Force and managed to break his hold on the troopers, but not before Sidious threw them all backwards into the wall. Their armor clattered first on the wall and then on the floor as they dropped. Gubacher cowered in the corner with his cuff-bound arms over his head.

"I was hoping you would show up eventually, my boy." Sidious grinned at Anakin. He grabbed the holocron in his free hand and zapped it with Force lightning. The artifact blinked out, and Sidious removed it from its place. It slipped from his fingers, clattered down the tower, and shattered on the ground. "I would have been disappointed if you were not here for this."

"Destroy the tower," Anakin said to the troopers scrambling back to their feet. "Whatever it takes—destroy it and kill him."

Anakin jumped along the walls to ascend the tower, and Sidious lashed at him with Force lightning. Grenades exploded at the base of the tower, and blaster bolts fired at Sidious. The Sith Lord fired lightning with one hand and flicked his lightsaber back and forth with the other to deflect the shots. Anakin landed on a narrow shelf of wall across from Sidious and froze as Sidious slammed him with a fierce push from the Force.

Anakin pushed back with all his might. Sidious slid backwards, and his smile diminished. Briefly. Sidious hoisted up a handful of troopers and strangled them, forcing Anakin to divert some of his focus to break Sidious' grip on them. All the troopers dropped to the floor, but Sidious used Anakin's temporary distraction to whip Anakin's ledge with Force lightning. The ledge fell out from under Anakin's feet. He jumped towards a different ledge, but Sidious fired a web of Force lightning at him. Anakin spun his lightsaber and deflected the blasts, but he dropped to the ground floor in the process.

Sidious spun with a wide flourish of his cloak. He drew another holocron from under his heavy shroud, slammed the artifact into the peak of the tower, and sealed it with a jolt of Force Lightning. The holocron flared a brilliant red, and a wave of red light ran over the full length of the tower. The same red light overflowed from the tower and spread across the floor and up the walls. It struck Anakin with the force of a raging bantha, and he stumbled backwards and hit the ground.

Waves of pain radiated through him, and flashes of his nightmares clawed back into his mind. A strange sense of numbness crept through his muscles and bones and through his mind.

"Now then," Sidious said, and he disengaged his lightsaber and tucked it in his cloak before he lifted both hands into the air. "It is time for me to claim my new power."

Strangely weak, Anakin climbed to his feet. The instant he stood, the ground rocked beneath him. The floor ripped from the walls, and fissures spread from one end of the room to the other. Parts of the floor fell away into an endless abyss from which an eerie red light shone. Sidious ripped his weapon out of the floor and raised it, and the ceiling broke over them.

Troopers tottered and dropped into the abyss. Anakin caught them with the Force and yanked them up, and he dragged all of them to the side of the tower, to the small ridge of floor that remained around Sidious' weapon. One of the troopers was kind enough not to fling Gubacher into the abyss.

"Hang on!" Anakin shouted. He grappled the ridge of stone under their feet and held it in place with the Force.

Anakin, his men, and the tower on which Sidious stood rose through crumbling layers of rock into the suffocating, sweltering air of Mustafar's surface.


	31. The Cost of Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, all! Have a great one~!

Obi-Wan swiveled his starfighter through an onslaught of vulture droids and dodged past several mind-controlled Jedi in starfighters. His movements allowed him only a few seconds of respite before a rain of blaster fire poured down on him. His ship lurched under the barrage. He returned fire on the droid vessels but had to wheel around the Jedi to keep from striking them.

It made it a difficult battle to win when one could not properly fight.

He and countless troopers had descended upon the Gahenn Plains where the Sith cave existed. A metal framework of extensive scaffolding had been built across the plains and over the cave entrance, and a building and tower had been erected at the edge of the scaffolding. The tower appeared to house a reactor, meaning they supplied power to something, somewhere. He would have fired on the building if not for the living beings he sensed inside.

The enemies avoided firing near the building, tower, and scaffolding, which made it the perfect area to fall back and regroup. If he weaved through the scaffolding, his enemies stopped firing on him. Obi-Wan almost considered destroying the scaffolding, but because it was directly above the cave, he feared what it might do to Anakin and his men below.

Rivers of lava carved their way through the obsidian stone plains, and cracks and fissures brutalized the ground. Clouds of black smoke puffed from the depths of the planet and cast the atmosphere in a haze of reddish-black. A grim battlefield, suitable to the mood.

Obi-Wan shot several more droid fighters out of the sky and swung low to narrowly avoid an onslaught of buzz droids. He wasn't doing that again. Two Jedi-led starfighters swooped behind him and fired on him, and only some quick maneuvering around the scaffolding allowed him to evade their fire.

 _"General,"_ Cody said over the comms, _"Skywalker's surface team has come under fire. Should we assist?"_

"No, and don't let on," Obi-Wan said. "Keep the forces here distracted. At the very least, we'll keep them out of their way."

Obi-Wan's concern for Anakin and his men increased, and it only intensified as his stomach dropped. A sense of foreboding stabbed at him through the Force. A jolt ran through him from head to toe and left him strangely numb. He rubbed at his head against an ache that developed deep in his skull.

It felt like the holocrons breaking through his mind, but not quite. It felt worse.

"We might have a problem," Obi-Wan said into his comlink. "Anakin, what's going on?"

 _"We definitely have a problem,"_ Anakin shouted through the communicator, but his voice dulled behind violent crashes and shouts of surprise.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to request more information and abruptly closed it.

The ground shook, and the nearby rivers of lava burst out of their beds and splattered glowing gold and red liquid across the obsidian plains. The black stones gave way and crumbled, and lava poured down the sides of a massive and growing hole that went on forever into a dark abyss.

A tower climbed out of the darkness with a holocron glowing at its peak. The weapon. Sidious stood at the top of the tower with hands upheld.

Metal scaffolding had been woven into the ground in such a way that it prevented the ground around the tower from breaking and the hole from growing too wide. Sidious waved his hands and ripped countless pieces of distant scaffolding out of the ground and slammed them through the floating platform on which his weapon stood, securing it to the surface. Gaps remained between the platform and the plains. Traversing the abyss would be a difficult feat for the troopers.

Clusters of troopers huddled together on the small ridge of rock around the tower. Anakin used the Force and flung the troopers across the gap to stable ground.

"Aim for the top of that tower," Obi-Wan shouted into his comlink. "Avoid the bottom—we have allies down there."

Obi-Wan and several troopers aimed for Sidious at the top of the tower. Their laser bolts smattered against an invisible field created by the scaffolding. They turned their fire on the scaffolding, but Sidious formed a ball of Force lightning in his hands and flung it like a web over the sky. It ripped through every starfighter it caught.

Obi-Wan evaded with a quick dive, but an invisible hand plucked his starfighter out of the air. On the tower, Sidious stretched his fingers towards Obi-Wan, his teeth glaring under the light of the holocron as he laughed. One of the engines in Obi-Wan's ship imploded. All the warning lights flashed in the cockpit and alarms screamed. One wing crinkled inward while the other tore off completely.

With the Force, Obi-Wan slammed hard against the grip on his ship and broke Sidious' hold. He spun his vessel around the far side of the facility and out of Sidious' sight. As he passed the building, he glimpsed a splotch of darkness on the long, flat roof. The darkness had a predominately red face.

Maul.

Obi-Wan shot over Maul and ejected from his seat, and he used the Force to lunge from the ship to the nearest edge of the roof. His ship twirled away before it hit the ground in a ball of flames. Maul didn't face him or acknowledge his presence. Instead, he kept his focus wholly on the tower's dark silhouette against bright flashes of splashing lava.

"You're too late," Maul said, and he glared at Obi-Wan out of the corner of his eye. "I warned you, and you played around too long, and now—" He faced Obi-Wan, and his eyes glared gold. "You're too late!"

"I didn't see you doing much to assist." Obi-Wan scowled at Maul and then at Sidious. The Sith Lord walked around his high perch. A strange halo of red light radiated from him, as though he himself shone like a holocron. "That's…"

"He already used the weapon, you fool. Don't you feel it?" Maul said. "We're all doomed."

That couldn't be. Obi-Wan felt—off. He placed a hand at his chest, where his heart muttered and thumped erratically under his fingertips. His head ached, and a persistent knot sat in his stomach. When he concentrated to feel the Force's power flowing in and around him, it took longer to reach what normally felt like an extension of him.

"That's…" Obi-Wan's heart skipped a beat.

The glow around Sidious was their stolen energy—the stolen strength of hundreds of Jedi.

Maul stormed to the other end of the roof and gathered a gnarled heap of equipment. He slid various gleaming pieces of metal into place, building some sort of cannon. He yanked wires through the sole door on the roof and affixed the cables to his portable weapon.

"What is that?" Obi-Wan asked. He took a step back to ensure the weapon never pointed at him, and his hand went to his lightsaber. His mind felt muddled, and he had no sense of peace or danger. "What are you doing?"

"What you should have done, you good-for-nothing Jedi."

Maul thrust the cannon to the edge of the roof and fired on each corner of the scaffolding from which Sidious' shield arose. Massive bolts hurled from his weapon and shattered through the metal like stones through cracked glass. It took only seconds before he demolished the scaffolding—and presumably the shield.

"I ask you to do one thing," Maul muttered and spun the cannon towards Sidious.

Sidious did nothing. All of it was too easy. Obi-Wan's clouded instincts kicked in too late.

A trap.

Maul swung the cannon and pointed at Anakin, who rounded the base of the tower after helping the rest of his men escape. Obi-Wan's heart jumped to his throat. He drew his lightsaber and ran at Maul while he screamed into his comlink.

"Anakin, look out!"

Obi-Wan slashed at the cannon and rammed Maul with his full weight, but a bolt of energy whistled out of the weapon. Obi-Wan staggered and watched.

Watched as Anakin whirled and held up a hand to receive the blast. He created a shield at his fingertips, but the cannon fire shattered it in a matter of seconds. The bolt slammed into Anakin and blew apart the ground under his feet. Anakin fell into the abyss from which the tower had risen, and a small landslide crumbled after him. Pain tore through Obi-Wan from head to toe, searing through him like white-hot flames. He stumbled to one knee and gripped his chest.

Pain. Anakin was injured, but he was alive. Obi-Wan felt the pulse of his life.

"That one was for you," Maul said with a quick snarl, and he swung the cannon back towards Sidious. "This one is for me."

Maul fired, but a second shield flashed around Sidious and the tower and devoured the blast. Maul's cannon fire dripped off the shield and vanished in a puff of smoke. Maul jerked backwards, eyes wide. He'd anticipated the first shield—he hadn't anticipated the second.

"No," he growled. "That wasn't—"

Sidious launched enormous bolts of Force lightning at them. Obi-Wan and Maul jumped backwards, but the bolts shredded a huge portion of the roof and slammed into them anyway. The cannon exploded, and flames tore through the wires that had powered it. Obi-Wan rolled back to his feet and ran to the shattered edge of the roof. Sidious turned his strikes against troopers in starfighters that swarmed over his head. He lashed them out of the air with Force lightning he wielded like whips. Jedi in starfighters closed in and engaged the troopers.

What an utter disaster.

"He wasn't supposed to have a second shield. This was the plan." Maul scrambled to his feet, a red cloud of rage permeating the air around him. His hand trembled on his lightsaber hilt. "This was the plan!"

"Your target was Anakin…" Obi-Wan huffed. "Why? Sidious wants him alive."

"He is alive, you fool. Right now, he's sitting in a literal pit of the dark side, and he's surrounded by holocrons." Maul seethed, and he hissed through his teeth. "Sidious wants him with his brain melted so he can be controlled."

"You're giving him more power," Obi-Wan said, his own anger rising. "If you wanted to stop Sidious, why did you play right into his hands?"

"This wasn't the plan!" Maul slashed his hand through the air. "Hit Skywalker. Turn him to the dark side. Enslave him." His yellow eyes locked on Obi-Wan, and fire burned behind them. Hate. "Because that would destroy you." His gaze shifted to Sidious. "But there wasn't supposed to be a second shield."

"Everyone plays their games," Obi-Wan said with some heat. While he would have liked to see Sidious destroyed, he struggled to sympathize with the man who had made Anakin his target. "You play your games, and he plays his."

Maul shuddered with fury. At the very least, it might make him useful in a fight against Sidious. Or at least a suitable distraction.

Obi-Wan slid to the edge of the roof and prepared to jump. He had to get Anakin out of that pit. As things were, Obi-Wan would never defeat Sidious on his own. They needed to work together to find a way to hit the weapon, cut off Sidious' powers, and take the Sith Lord together.

The hiss of a lightsaber drew Obi-Wan's attention behind him. Maul had engaged his dual-bladed lightsaber and flung his rippling black cloak to the roof. He paced a line behind Obi-Wan.

"What are you doing?" Obi-Wan asked, and he couldn't help the exasperated tone. He waved a hand in Sidious' direction. "He's going to get stronger. If you want any hope of striking him, now is the time. Help us end him—you can take your revenge against me later."

"It's over," Maul said, his breathing labored. "We can't beat him now. But I can destroy you. Here where the dark side is strongest, with the holocrons at work—you must be feeling it."

"Has your hatred of me blinded you so much?" Obi-Wan shook his head. Of course it had. That was how the dark side worked. It was that same hatred and rage that had destroyed Anakin in another life. "That you would throw your life away for it?"

"My hatred of you is the only reason I still exist." Maul grinned, wickedly feral. "I'm going to cut off your limbs and leave you here to rot. That way you can watch as Skywalker comes out of that hole and bows to Sidious. I'll lose my powers, but Sidious' mind control will never reach me. I'll escape with my life and live in the comfort of knowing you lost everything here."

A flicker of anger kindled in Obi-Wan. He stepped away from the edge of the roof and fell in step behind Maul. They circled each other.

Obi-Wan whirled his lightsaber. Anakin's pulse fluttered, and so Obi-Wan's pulse fluttered. Horrific images of a dark future raged at the corners of Obi-Wan's mind—images of a future shared with him through Anakin. Whatever Anakin had fallen into, it tormented him. Obi-Wan would have to make quick work of Maul if he wanted any chance of hauling Anakin back.

"What will you do in this lifetime?" Maul asked, and the corner of one of his lips curled to show his sharp teeth. "When your boy succumbs to Sidious, and this time you knew it was entirely your fault?"

"Anakin won't fall," Obi-Wan said, and he had no doubt. "Destroying his mind with holocrons is a lot different than choosing the dark side."

"It won't make much difference when Skywalker becomes Sidious' subservient little pet, now will it?" Maul chuckled, low and nefarious. Demented. "Your boy's going to become a slave again. Seems that's all he's good for—"

Obi-Wan closed the space between them, his lightsaber flashing cool blue in the red haze of smoke that hung in the air. Maul parried and swung his second blade from the side, but Obi-Wan flicked one red blade away before catching and deflecting the other.

"I feel your anger," Maul said. He sneered. "Does your apprentice know how you struggle with your rage? How your emotions consume you?"

Obi-Wan twirled his lightsaber and vaulted towards Maul at full speed. He pelted Maul with a flurry of strikes and pushed him across the roof. Maul fell in step with him, twisting his own blades to counter the strikes. When Maul ran out of roof, he flipped backwards and landed on top of a skywalk that ran between the building and the tower. Obi-Wan pursued him.

Rivers of lava coursed beneath them.

"Maybe you've gotten a little too comfortable with the dark side," Maul said. He twirled his dual-bladed lightsaber, and both blades tore grooves in the roof of the skywalk. "Maybe it's not Vader's influence helping you right now. Maybe it's your own taste for the dark side."

"I do not fear the dark side." Obi-Wan lunged at Maul with a forceful blow, and their blades locked in the middle, bringing them face to face. "It exists. It will always exist. But it can never reach me now."

"Are you so certain?" The grin on Maul's face widened.

"I am." Obi-Wan shoved at Maul with the Force and pursued him across the roof with another burst of rapid strikes. Maul reverse lunged onto the tower roof. Obi-Wan followed. "Balance. It is one of the many things I learned from Anakin."

"You mean Vader?" Maul chuckled.

"No," Obi-Wan said, and he slammed into Maul again, sending them both flying off the tower to the network of scaffolding that caged in Sidious' weapon. "I mean Anakin."

Obi-Wan pummeled Maul until the Sith apprentice flipped backwards and cut out the scaffolding with his lightsaber. The metal groaned at its broken point and bent under their combined weight. Obi-Wan lunged across the gap and hit Maul as he landed, pressuring him backwards towards a more secure position on the metal post.

Maul flipped onto a different piece of scaffolding. Obi-Wan hopped to the metal post running beneath Maul and cut the scaffolding out from underneath Maul's feet. The scaffolding grated and screamed as it bent and broke. Maul skidded down towards Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan ran up to meet him, their blades flashing in the dismal smoke.

Again, Maul slashed through the metal beams on which they stood and sent them plummeting. Obi-Wan jumped one way and Maul the other. They landed on scaffolding close to the roaring lava, and the sweltering heat sucked the sweat off Obi-Wan's skin. He ran and jumped, and Maul did likewise. As they passed in the air, they swung at each other, their lightsabers sliding past each other in showers of sparks. They landed on opposite sides, turned, and lunged at each other again.

This chase had gone on long enough.

Obi-Wan spun as if to jump, but he stayed put as Maul dove at him. With Maul moving in the air, Obi-Wan hacked the metal scaffolding apart where Maul would land and dove to the next piece of scaffolding, cutting that apart as well. Maul pursued him, but Obi-Wan focused on ripping the scaffolding structures to shreds. The whole cage of metal creaked and groaned under their weight as they hopped back and forth.

The entire structure snapped as Obi-Wan cut one too many beams. The frame tipped, sending Obi-Wan and Maul toppling towards lava and jagged obsidian. Parts of the scaffolding hit lava and sank while other parts slammed into the rocks and halted. Obi-Wan lunged to a secure section that had settled on solid ground. Maul retreated to the opposite side of the frame. A cage of gnarled and twisted metal ran between them over a blazing river of lava.

Maul glared at Obi-Wan across the divide. Obi-Wan could feel the rage through the Force. The Sith apprentice bounded from several broken scaffolding pieces to close the distance between them. He hacked at Obi-Wan with his lightsaber in a maddening twist of red. Speed intense. Strikes hard. Attacks furious. Rage fueled him, and that made him careless. It had often made Anakin careless, too. A fatal flaw for those who depended on the dark side.

Obi-Wan deflected Maul's blades and monitored his swings. He measured Maul's steps and the space between his blades. He let Maul pummel him and gave ground, sliding upwards along jagged heaps of stone. Let Maul fall further into the depths of his fury. Let him be blinded by it.

Obi-Wan used his higher position to his advantage and slashed downwards at one of Maul's blades, forcing Maul to defend. Obi-Wan gave the swing his full strength and flicked Maul's blade far to the left. In the space it took for Maul to wheel his second blade around, Obi-Wan thrust his lightsaber clean through Maul's stomach. Maul froze, impaled on Obi-Wan's weapon, with his second blade above Obi-Wan's head.

Yanking his blade free, Obi-Wan stepped out of range. Maul staggered backwards and let his arms fall. His weapon clattered to the ground before it rolled into the lava. Maul grabbed at the hole in his stomach and took one step back, then another. His eyes went down and up again until they landed on Obi-Wan with sheer hate.

"You… will not win this. Your apprentice… will fall to Sidious…" Maul said, and his lips curled. "You will lose him—"

Obi-Wan kicked Maul into the lava and looked away. Maul screamed in rage and agony as he sank into the molten river, as fires ignited and consumed him. The burning river swallowed every trace of the Sith apprentice.

"I should think that ought to take care of you this time." Obi-Wan disengaged his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt.

He felt no hatred for Maul, no rage, only relief that at last his cruelty would come to an end.

Now other matters could be resolved without further interference.

At the top of the weapon where the holocron shone, several mind-controlled Jedi gathered around Sidious, their lightsabers blazing. Still other Jedi and droid starfighters swarmed the tower to ensure no one would reach the holocron. Clone troopers shot past in starfighters and gunships, launched quick assaults, and fell back to regroup.

Obi-Wan wouldn't be able to reach Sidious alone. He made haste on foot to the edge of the rift where Anakin had fallen. He pulled out his grappling hook and rappelled into the abyss after his former Padawan.


	32. The Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, all!!

Obi-Wan descended into the chasm. Lava trickled through cracks and lit his way. One significant hole dumped an entire waterfall of lava into the pit and turned the black walls shimmering orange. The removal of the weapon from underground had twisted the subterranean levels and provided countless rock ledges on which to step.

The deeper he got, the heavier the air. It thickened around him until every movement felt like swimming. The additional effort burdened his muscles, and exhaustion dragged down his head and shoulders.

Visions broke through his mind and marched through his head: images of Darth Vader, the destruction of the Jedi, and the iron-fisted rule of the galaxy. Memories of Anakin's life as a slave, of abuses against people he cared for—and of abuses against him. Memories of Obi-Wan's disappointments towards Anakin and his strict guidance—followed immediately by Palpatine's well-timed manipulations.

One vision always jumped to the forefront of Obi-Wan's mind: Anakin burned on Mustafar, and Obi-Wan walked away. Obi-Wan felt the flutter of despair from Anakin as it passed. The feelings of inadequacy and failure. The feelings of being rejected because he had failed, because love and worth were conditional and dependent on performance.

The images ripped the air from Obi-Wan's lungs, and he stopped to catch his breath. The pressure around him grew. Utter despair smothered him. He hastened his descent despite the ache in his muscles and bones.

Red light shone out of the depths of the pit. Obi-Wan dropped to a low ledge. Anakin lay in the center of the pit, and dozens of holocrons surrounded him on all sides. The ominous red glow of the Sith artifacts painted everything as if covered in blood.

"Anakin." Obi-Wan jumped from the ledge to the floor. He trudged through the weight of the holocrons and pushed back the images crowding his mind. "Anakin!"

His former Padawan stared with vacant eyes. Lips parted. His chest rose and fell with short, shuddering breaths.

"Anakin, wake up." Obi-Wan dropped to his knees and patted Anakin's cheek. "Can you hear me?"

Anakin gave no sign of comprehension. If the horrific images vying for Obi-Wan's attention were any indication of what was happening in Anakin's head, Anakin had no idea Obi-Wan was there. Obi-Wan had to deal with the holocrons, and quickly, before he started losing his mind in the same way. He scanned the walls and the lava flows. A few puddles of lava spread in the far corners of the room, but cracks in the floor's foundation sent most of the lava into oblivion. The lava would be his best bet, but he needed more than a trickle; he needed a flood.

Obi-Wan dragged Anakin onto his back and used the Force to jump to the nearest ledge. Another vision slammed into him. His legs buckled, and he haphazardly flung Anakin onto the ledge because he could no longer support him. Visions of Mustafar in another life clawed through his mind. Anakin burned, and Obi-Wan walked away. Rejection. Hopelessness. Suffering.

The roar of the images got louder when Obi-Wan tried to push the thoughts away. The dark side's presence closed in on him and choked the air out of his lungs.

Now or never—he had to move now. Obi-Wan grappled at the walls around the strongest lava flow and pulled with his diminished strength to open a path. The walls rumbled and groaned in reply. A trickle of lava gave way to a raging river. Brilliant orange liquid tore through the crack and flooded the pit. Holocrons burst into flames, sputtered, and sank under the molten liquid. The pit rumbled, and the opposite wall cracked and slipped on an invisible fault line. The shift must have opened a hole in the floor, because lava rushed out of the pit as quickly as it poured in.

Whatever happened, it took the influence of the holocrons with it. The visions began to recede, though they didn't relent entirely.

"Anakin, can you hear me?" Obi-Wan tapped Anakin's cheek and pushed peace at him through their fractured connection through the Force. "Anakin!"

He received no reaction, and images continued to force their way into Anakin's head. The fierce presence of the dark side trapped Anakin in a loop of his atrocious life as Darth Vader, and the visions were always punctuated with a vision of Obi-Wan walking away and letting Anakin burn. Everything always ended with Obi-Wan's rejection of Anakin.

Obi-Wan's heart ached. Such lies Sidious had fed Anakin, and Obi-Wan had played into them.

"Anakin, I need you to wake up," he said.

Obi-Wan heaved a sigh and rubbed at an ache in his temple. The pain permeating deep in his skull reminded him of the flashes of pain he'd endured when Anakin initially fell into the pit. Anakin's mind had been harmed, but his body had also been injured. He'd need both in peak form if he wanted any hope of defeating Sidious, and a little healing through the Force might chase away some of the darkness clamoring to keep hold of his mind.

Obi-Wan placed one hand on Anakin's forehead and the other on his chest, and he dipped through the heavy veil of the dark side that tried to smother his connection with the Force. He wasn't certain how well healing would go with his connection to the Force hampered, but he had to try. Knives of pain stabbed through Obi-Wan's body as he tried to decipher where Anakin had been hurt. Bumps and bruises riddled Anakin's entire body.

Obi-Wan flinched against the pain and focused into the Force. He healed the greater wounds, those that caused the most pain and those that affected areas where significant organs lay.

An explosion echoed high over their heads. Obi-Wan jumped, and Anakin jumped, too. A light returned to Anakin's eyes. Obi-Wan kept a hand on his chest to pin Anakin down, in case his former Padawan felt the need to fly into action, and searched above them for signs of incoming danger. Several lesser explosions followed, and the walls shuddered as the battle raged above them.

"Master," Anakin said, his voice hoarse. He reached up and touched his hair with a grimace. "Obi-Wan…"

"Welcome back." Obi-Wan smiled and kept his voice light despite the churning in his stomach, despite how wrong everything felt sitting in that pit permeated by the dark side. "Thought I'd lost you for a moment."

Anakin glanced around and then did what he always did—he pushed himself off the ground and prepared to move. Obi-Wan maintained his hold on Anakin's chest and forced him down.

"Stop moving."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and finished healing Anakin to the extent that he could. Sidious' weapon had done a number on his abilities, though, and even healing minor bruises took a great deal out of him. This was not a fight they were equipped to win, but it was not one they could afford to lose.

"What happened?" Anakin asked when Obi-Wan finished.

"Sidious set a trap for you. He placed the holocrons here and used them to try to break your mind."

"Of course he did," Anakin muttered. He rubbed at his head and unleashed a growl, and he sank against the floor. Despite Obi-Wan's ministrations, shadows hung under his eyes. "I am done with Sith. If I ever see a Sith holocron again, I'm going to blow it up. With a grenade, a torpedo—I will build a Death Star just so I can obliterate the holocron."

"That's a good attitude, because there's a Sith holocron waiting for you right upstairs." Obi-Wan patted Anakin's knee as Anakin dragged himself into a sitting position.

Anakin grimaced, and the visions receded in his mind. He said nothing about them, but it was clear they still troubled him deeply. Anakin's insecurity and fear, the concern that he had no place to belong, still festered like an open wound. A simple talk would not undo years of suffering. A flame of concern lit in Obi-Wan's chest.

"Are you all right?" Obi-Wan asked, even as Anakin composed himself and captured all the lingering hostile thoughts.

"Yeah." Anakin pulled up a tired smile, but it was genuine.

Obi-Wan patted Anakin's shoulder, gave a squeeze, and allowed his hand to linger, a physical reminder to Anakin that he was not alone. Not in this lifetime, and he never would be. The weight of sorrow melted from Anakin's features, but a shroud of exhaustion remained. They needed to get through this so Anakin could finally rest—could finally step out from under the burden of being the Chosen One and rest without its all-consuming, smothering weight.

If the Force allowed it, at least.

"We must find a way to stop Sidious." Obi-Wan patted Anakin's shoulder again and rose, lifting his eyes towards the darkness above. "If he continues sapping our strength for much longer, I fear we won't have the means to defeat him."

"I don't feel terribly weak yet. I don't think he anticipated how slow his weapon would work." Anakin used the wall to support his weight as he stood. Despite his bold claim, he seemed rather weak. Sore and weary. "Why did he put it above ground? The dark side is stronger down here."

"Maul made it sound as though the weapon may not reach vast distances. I'm assuming having it buried underground didn't help," Obi-Wan said, because it was the only explanation. Sidious had moved the weapon from relative safety and put it on the surface of a planet where it could be bombed and destroyed—once the shields were dealt with, at least. "Sidious exposed it so it would reach farther, impact more people, and provide him more power—and slaves."

"Fantastic." Anakin sighed and scrubbed at his head. He wore exhaustion like a garment.

"Are you certain you're all right?"

"Yeah, but it's wearing on me," he said, and he looked towards the surface. "We have to hit him hard and fast, Obi-Wan. He's just going to get stronger and bring more people into this." A light flashed across his eyes, and he met Obi-Wan's gaze. "What if I pushed Sidious to abuse his powers? Maybe he'll get weaker like I do."

"I'm not certain that would work the way you're thinking," Obi-Wan said, though he rubbed his beard as he pondered it. "He's siphoning his power through other people's bodies. He's using their midi-chlorians and not his own."

"It's still worth trying. I'll try to hit the weapon while I’m at it." Anakin nodded, as though his plan of hitting hard and fast would resolve everything.

While Obi-Wan wasn't in a position to argue with him, it still didn't sit well with him. While attacking directly might be their best option, it also meant Anakin would expend his energy quickly. Obi-Wan folded his arms at his chest and shot Anakin a pointed look.

"You must remember your own limits. If you push too hard, you'll exhaust yourself." He took a step closer to drive his point home. "You barely survived the last time."

"I know, but it's the only way."

Obi-Wan's jaw clenched and his muscles tightened.

"I'm not trying to be self-destructive, Obi-Wan. It isn't even about obligation or duty. It's just… the right thing to do. We have to stop Sidious, and I may be the only one who can."

"But you are not alone. We will do this together."

"I know." Anakin smiled.

Obi-Wan believed the sincerity in Anakin's eyes. Anakin had come a long way from where they began. Obi-Wan clapped a hand on Anakin's shoulder and squeezed.

"Don't do anything reckless."

"Can't promise that," Anakin said with a laugh.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Obi-Wan heaved a sigh and offered a dramatic eye roll that made Anakin's grin increase. Oh, how he loved to be a nuisance. "Sidious was standing at the top of his weapon, guarding the holocron. A shield covers him, so the troops can't fire on him," Obi-Wan explained. He pulled his grappling hook from his pouch and scanned the rock wall. "A lot of the Jedi gathered around him. I'm assuming Sidious expects us to strike at him directly."

"Then let's not disappoint him," Anakin said. He grabbed Obi-Wan's hand over the grappling hook and shook his head. "Allow me."

He closed his eyes. The ledge under their feet rumbled as Anakin tore the entire piece from the wall. He looked up, raised both hands, and lifted their stone platform through open air, carrying them out of the chasm. Suffocating hot air and a cloud of sulfurous smoke greeted them outside. Obi-Wan and Anakin leaped off the ledge and landed on a stretch of obsidian plain.

Something tugged at Obi-Wan's mind and drew his attention. A warning through the Force, a feeling, an instinct. He and Anakin exchanged a quick glance. In perfect harmony, they turned and swung their lightsabers, and their blades deflected the lightsabers of several Jedi. Obi-Wan and Anakin pivoted and parried two more strikes angled from the sides. They twisted until they stood at each other's backs. A vast army of Jedi poured out of the sky from a gunship while other Jedi jumped off the weapon they'd been guarding.

Obi-Wan and Anakin deflected blows, kicked away their assailants, and pushed with the Force, all the while moving with each other to keep the other's back covered. Obi-Wan could never have asked for someone better to guard his back; he had no fear of attack from behind while Anakin covered him. Never had and never would.

Even though the Jedi vastly outnumbered them, Sidious controlled the Jedi's minds and actions. They may have been strong in the Force, but they were only puppets now. Even so, their attacks were constant and relentless.

"We're getting nowhere with this," Obi-Wan said in several puffs of air. "They'll wear us out before we ever break away from them."

"The weapon or Sidious," Anakin said, his hair frazzled, sweat shining red on his skin like diluted blood. "We have to focus."

The Jedi were distractions. Anakin used the Force to shove the Jedi outward and away from them, but more simply filled their places. He did it again, and Obi-Wan used the momentary space between attacks to scan the field and assess their situation. His eyes immediately caught the billowing form cloaked in black silhouetted against the bright red of the holocron.

Sidious.

"Anakin, Sidious is still on the weapon," Obi-Wan said, and he grunted as he deflected two more lightsaber swings. Anakin backed into him, and they pivoted around each other again. In doing so, they knocked away assailants coming at angles that would have left them vulnerable.

A momentary pause. Anakin and Obi-Wan both pushed out with the Force, but Jedi closed in again.

"Go," Obi-Wan said. "You were meant to go."

"But…" Anakin swung his blade in a wide arc to deflect five lightsabers in a single sweep. "If I leave you here…"

"I'll move and find a way to hold them off. At least for a while. But we'll both wear out like this, and doing this won't solve anything."

"Master," Anakin said, and any other words died on his lips. Fear bubbled between them through the wavering Force. "Obi-Wan…"

"I know." Obi-Wan shoved the Jedi back and restrained them. In the brief respite, he met Anakin's gaze. "I know. Go."

Anakin nodded, and a storm of emotions raged through his eyes. Obi-Wan heard the unspoken words: be safe, don't die, I won't let you down.

Anakin turned and ran. He lifted a vast majority of the nearest Jedi and hurled them at a distance to give him and Obi-Wan space to move. Anakin lunged across the chasm to reach the platform on which the weapon stood.

Obi-Wan ran in the opposite direction, leading the Jedi away. He hopped from boulder to boulder and from one side of the lava river to the other, forcing the Jedi on a wild chase. Those that closed in on him he repelled with a push through the Force and a quick sprint in a different direction. To his pleasant surprise, troopers swarmed the area and fired on the Jedi with blasters set to stun.

They would be the distraction. They would buy time.

Once again, Obi-Wan believed in the depths of his heart that Anakin would win and save them all. This future was meant to be different, to be better, and he would do whatever it took to see it through.


	33. Fatal Flaw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, all!

Sidious stood at the edge of the tallest ledge of his weapon, and his eyes glowed fiercely orange: Sith yellow highlighted by holocron red. He flashed the whites of his teeth.

"Anakin," his voice bellowed, tainted with rage and amusement. "Why do you persist? Can you not see you have already lost?"

Anakin jumped along the rough sides of the tower. Several rocky ledges served as suitable landing places all the way up the weapon. He twirled his lightsaber in his hand before hopping to the next ledge.

Sidious' lips twisted into a feral smile, and he swept a hand into the air. Enormous boulders of obsidian tore from the ground, and Sidious held them in the air over his head. He twitched his fingers, and the boulders careened towards Anakin. Anakin glanced down. If the boulders bounced, they'd crash into the Jedi and troopers battling below.

Anakin grappled the boulders out of the air and shoved them back at Sidious. The massive stones shattered against a shield that covered the Sith Lord. Another boulder flew at Anakin that he didn't have the mind to grab, so he cut through it with his lightsaber. It split and fell away, the halves crashing down into the chasm. Still more boulders came, and Anakin caught and hurled them back.

He crushed one of the boulders en route to Sidious and pushed it with all his strength. Not at Sidious, but at the holocron, to disrupt it or destroy it. The bullets of stone hit yet another shield.

Sidious laughed, and while he hurled boulders at Anakin with one hand, he raised the other. The red-black clouds of Mustafar swirled into a vortex over his head and sank down into a funnel towards him. Purple lightning flickered through the clouds, into the funnel, and into Sidious' hand. He reeled back and hurled at Anakin Force lightning unlike anything seen before.

Anakin flicked away the last few boulders with the Force and threw up his lightsaber and a Force-created shield to stop the lightning. Regardless, the lightning slammed him off his ledge, and he flipped to another. Anakin focused on the lightning and all of the dark energies piecing it together, and it touched his mind the same way currents of energy ran through wires in machines. He caught it, twisted it, and hurled it back. The lightning snaked towards Sidious and hit his shield without effect.

Nothing physical would reach the holocron or the weapon. Anakin would have to use less visible tactics if he wanted to break through.

Sidious' laughter boomed. He hurled bolt after bolt of lightning and several smaller stones towards Anakin. Anakin flipped the rocks over his head and pushed them into the chasm while he absorbed the lightning into his lightsaber. Meanwhile, he dove into the Force and focused on the top of the tower. He grabbed the stone with his mind and pulled on the midsection of the tower. It didn't break, but the force with which he pulled sent Sidious tumbling off his high perch.

Surprise flashed across Sidious' face, and he lunged onto a boulder he swept into the air. He bobbled off the rock, dove at Anakin, and ignited his lightsaber. Anakin jumped and met him in the air, blades flashing in streaks of blue and red. They slammed into each other so hard they spun in the air, careening in opposite directions. Anakin landed and bounced off a falling boulder, and he lunged at Sidious again. Sidious jumped on air.

Their blades clashed and locked, and together Anakin and Sidious fell. Both pushed off and flipped away from each other before hitting the ground. They landed several meters apart on a smooth portion of the plains, two rivers of lava weaving around them.

Sidious used Force abilities near impossible to anyone, even to Anakin, and showed no signs of weakening. Obi-Wan, of course, had been right. Making Sidious use his powers wouldn't cause him to destroy himself. Such a fate was reserved for Anakin. The copper taste of blood touched the back of Anakin's tongue, and his pulse roared in his ears. An ache cut through Anakin's head and wriggled through his veins to the soles of his feet. Reminders that he could not maintain this level of power for long.

Anakin ran at Sidious, lightsaber drawn back, but Sidious waved a hand at him. The ground lurched beneath Anakin and tore apart, one end of it flying upwards and sending Anakin tottering backwards. Lava splashed up as one of the massive stones turned over. Sidious raised his hand, and an entire river of lava lifted and churned over his head.

A jolt of fear went through Anakin as a constant and familiar memory of burning alive jumped into his mind.

"What's the matter, my boy?" Sidious asked with a grin and a feigned voice full of affection. "Unpleasant memories?" He hurled the river at Anakin.

Anakin reverse lunged on the tipping ground, swept up entire chunks of broken obsidian, and created a shield to deflect the attack. Molten yellow liquid splattered over Anakin's makeshift wall and splashed his clothes, but most harmlessly spilled across the plain. Anakin let the shield and stones fall, and Sidious grinned.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan's voice echoed from behind.

Anakin felt it on instinct. He spun and swung his lightsaber, narrowly deflecting a shining blue blade from cutting off his right arm. At least a dozen Jedi surrounded him, blades flashing in a blur of blues and greens. He twisted to parry every blow, but they pummeled him until he had no choice but to grab them with the Force and hurl them away. More came.

From his brief respite, Anakin caught a glimpse of Obi-Wan fighting his own battle against a small army of Jedi while making his way towards Anakin. Jedi covered Anakin again and forced him to fight back. Pain seized his head in a crushing hold. He had to get away without killing them and get to Sidious. He had a mission to accomplish.

Anakin caught, lifted, and flung the Jedi aside. More and more came.

"This is your true weakness, boy, and the reason why your path is doomed to failure. You must kill them if you hope to reach me," Sidious said. His eyes flashed with twisted pleasure as he watched Anakin struggle. "You can save yourself or you can save the few." He waved at the Jedi, and then he placed a hand at his chest and said, "Or you can kill me and save many. But you cannot save them all." His hand fell, and his eyes glowed. No, his entire body glowed with pure, raw power. "This is your fatal flaw: compassion."

Anakin threw the Jedi aside and took one step towards Sidious before he was inundated again. Overwhelmed, and he hurt. His head throbbed, his muscles screamed in protest, and blood drained down his throat from a nosebleed surely about to start. Out of time. He pushed back and fought forward, and he caught up the Jedi again to hurl them away.

Sidious was gone.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan screamed from nearby.

Anakin twisted on instinct and spun his blade. Too late. Sidious, in a flare of black cloak, dropped from over his head, lightsaber flashing. A push from the Force slammed Anakin from the side and sent him flying. Not just the Force—Obi-Wan hit him, too. Obi-Wan met and deflected Sidious' blade, but Sidious grinned the whole time.

Planned. It was planned. Something in Anakin's mind screamed as he fell sideways, as he reached with the Force but had no power left at his disposal. He couldn't make a sound.

Sidious landed, flicked his lightsaber into the air behind him, spun, and caught it in his other hand. Through his cloak, out of Obi-Wan's sight, he stabbed it backwards. Anakin's heart stopped.

The blood-red blade impaled Obi-Wan. Sidious withdrew his lightsaber and spun around, and he swung to cut off Obi-Wan's head.


	34. Anakin Skywalker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, all!!!!! And thanks for the highly entertaining comments, hahaha!

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin screamed.

Power shot out from him. A wave of energy like a shield erupted around him, tore through the ground, and shattered stone in a wide radius. It slammed into Sidious and blew him several meters away and did likewise with all nearby Jedi.

Anakin was up and running before he realized it, before Obi-Wan had time to fall. Anakin caught his Master in his arms and went to the ground with him. He shifted onto his knees and held Obi-Wan. He drew a Force shield in and covered them both, and he tore up a storm of boulders to twist and twirl in a vortex around them. Protecting them.

"Master! Obi-Wan," Anakin said, and his breath caught. Tears filled his eyes as he searched for the wound—clean through his stomach. His hand covered it. "Hold on, Master. I'll heal you."

He wasn't skilled at healing. Never had been. He tapped into his shared memories with Obi-Wan, to Obi-Wan healing him a short while earlier. Energy pulsed through him, though Anakin didn't know from where since his reserves felt so depleted, and warmth trickled off his fingertips to the wound. So slight, so pathetic, his abilities.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, quiet. In that little shield, nothing else existed, so Anakin heard him loud and clear. "Anakin, it's all right. Save your energy."

Anakin could only shake his head. Obi-Wan raised his hand to Anakin's face.

"You will win, Anakin. I know you will." Obi-Wan smiled. "Everything will be different this time. I feel it. Everything is different."

"Please stop, Master. Save your strength," Anakin said as he continued to heal him, as he pushed more and more energy into the wound. He felt vessels connecting, muscle fibers piecing back together, organs restoring. He felt it all, but it wasn't enough. "Please hold on, Obi-Wan. Please." His voice broke.

"I am so proud of you," Obi-Wan said, and the light in his eyes dulled. Tired. He looked so tired. Anakin continued to focus on healing but drew his Master close. "So proud, Anakin…" Obi-Wan's hand went to the back of Anakin's head, in some weak attempt at an embrace. "You are my brother, Anakin… I love you."

Anakin's heart skipped a beat. Echoes from another life, but different. Present tense. Unconditional.

"I love you," Obi-Wan said, clear, but his voice faded. His eyelids slid shut and his fingers slid from Anakin's hair to the ground.

"Obi-Wan…"

Anakin pushed more energy through the Force. From his body to Obi-Wan. Anything and everything to fill the hole Sidious had created. Obi-Wan's heart beat. He breathed, but faintly. Anakin did not have the strength to save him.

"Obi-Wan, please don't die!"

Force, do not let him die. Obi-Wan was meant to survive. He was meant to live until all the hairs on his head went gray. This life was supposed to be different, but better. Everything was meant to be better. Anakin pleaded with the Force, and he did the last thing he could do with his waning strength: he drew in the shield and covered Obi-Wan with it, and he slowed Obi-Wan's bodily processes through the Force to a near state of death. Stopped his blood from pouring into his wounded stomach, stopped his heart from failing so rapidly. Stopped what he could, and then he rose.

Someone else had to have the strength to save Obi-Wan. The Temple healers had to be around. Or Coric could come. Obi-Wan would not die. Anakin would end Sidious and destroy the weapon. Then someone could save Obi-Wan.

Anakin knew what he needed to do but didn't know how to win. He didn't have the strength to defeat Sidious. Not as Sidious grew stronger and Anakin's strength failed him.

Sidious was now an all-powerful Sith Lord. What was Anakin compared to him? A slave boy from Tatooine. A Jedi Padawan, Knight, and General. A no one in a mask. A Sith Lord named Darth Vader.

He was everything and nothing at the same time.

 _Do you hear him?_ Bail Organa's words echoed from the recesses of his mind, drawn up by something in the Force. A familiar touch: Qui-Gon? _Here is a man who has stood in the space between—between us and the Jedi, between us and the Sith, between us and the forgotten—listen to him._

Everything and nothing. Something in the space between.

Anakin closed his eyes and sank into the violent whirlwind of the Force. To the thing, the place, that he both loved and hated. That hurt him and helped him. That destroyed him and gave him strength.

Anakin Skywalker, a child of the Force and of flesh. A Jedi and a Sith. A hero with no fear and a villain that fears all. Joy and suffering. Love and hate. Anakin stood in the in-between place. That was the point.

Anakin opened his eyes, but his mind stayed focused on the Force and on his purpose. Focused on why he had been born, on why he existed. He took Obi-Wan's lightsaber and slid it into his sleeve, and he waved the storm of shining black stones away. They thundered to the ground and revealed Sidious on the other side.

"I've been waiting to put a hole in him for a very long time," Sidious said with much glee.

Anger rippled through Anakin, but it felt distant. The Force covered it and left only clarity.

"I feel your anger," Sidious said, but the twisted grin on his face faltered. Something strange flashed over his yellow eyes. Fear? "Take it and use it, Anakin. Use it to kill me, and in doing so, you will become the very thing you claim to hate."

"I will not become a Sith." Anakin marched towards Sidious, his steps slow and steady across the lava-splattered stone. "I know the pain that path will cause. I know the harm and the suffering. I will never choose it."

Jedi raced towards Anakin from behind. He swept them into the air and held them with only a thought. They swam in the air, trying to reach him, but he restrained them. Another jolt of concern crossed Sidious' face.

"You have no other place. The Jedi have rejected you. Your hands are too filthy for them and for the path of good."

Anakin paused for a beat, and then he stepped forward. Faster. Resolute.

"I am not a Jedi," he said with such strength and conviction that he even surprised himself. "Because I was meant to be different." He lunged without hesitation. "I am different."

Anakin slammed his lightsaber down over Sidious' head, and the Sith Lord barely caught the attack. Speed had never been Anakin's greatest strength, so he poured all of his efforts into heavy, powerful blows. He hit with such power that Sidious slid back on the rocks under each hit.

More Jedi rushed from across the lava fields, summoned by Sidious, and Anakin met their blades in a flurry of swings. He saw every movement, every action, before it came. His senses so in tune with the Force that time seemed to slow. When he batted away the impending blows, he caught and threw those Jedi into the air, too. Restrained them.

Sidious thrust at him from behind, and Anakin twirled to meet him. Blue clashed with red from above, then the left, then the right.

Sidious no longer grinned, but his body glowed with power. Lightning flickered through his eyes. Another storm swirled overhead and dropped bolts of lightning across the plains. Anakin jumped and rolled to avoid, and he caught one of the bolts on his blade. Sidious attacked as he dodged, and more Jedi arrived.

Anakin could not win. Not like this. Not while the Jedi remained enslaved, not while Sidious drained their power. As he ducked and parried, as he threw the Jedi away, he reached and grabbed neither the holocron nor the weapon itself but the entire platform on which the weapon sat. He tore it from its scaffolding.

"I think not," Sidious said as he slashed at Anakin. He grabbed the weapon and steadied it, his mind against Anakin's. Sidious won.

Anakin kicked Sidious away and ripped the ground apart beneath them. Lava oozed out of the black ground. Sidious jumped over it and pummeled Anakin with powerful swings, with raw power fueled by his hatred and rage. Oh, how Anakin remembered. He flipped backwards and turned the ground under Sidious, and Sidious jumped aside.

Out of the corner of his eye, Anakin caught a glimpse of flashing sparks. It drew his attention to the weapon he still wrestled into the air. Sparks spewed from frayed wires from the areas he'd torn. Lights blinked out along the consoles where Gubacher had worked.

Gubacher, who specialized in machines, like Anakin.

Anakin countered several more blows from Sidious, somersaulted to avoid another lightning blast that shattered the ground, and suspended several more Jedi in the air. He probably restrained half of Sidious' army. His focus returned to the weapon.

Though it was an ancient Sith weapon, and an ancient Sith holocron, the basis of the weapon was nothing more than a giant broadcasting station amplifying whatever noise the holocron produced. A big, ugly machine. And Anakin knew machines.

He ducked and rolled under Sidious' attacks, fell back and evaded.

In his mind, he sank into the machine. Disappeared and left his body to instinct. He dug into the machine's intricate parts, its circuit boards and cables.

All computers, all droids, all such things had one main source of power. One line that gave it strength. One course that determined everything. One piece that, when taken out of place, would change everything. Anakin found in that machine the one wire that connected everything, and he tore at it with all the strength he could muster through the Force. He felt the surge of energy through the frayed ends as they ripped, felt the heat of flames as they caught.

When Anakin tore the weapon, Sidious stumbled and jumped back in surprise. The ominous glow around him rippled, and the lightning in the clouds dimmed and faded. Something burned inside of Anakin. His strength did not rush back, but it was no longer bound to Sidious or his Sith weapon.

"How did you…" Sidious looked to his hideous Sith weapon, to the flames consuming it from the inside out. His grip on it relented, either because he realized it was useless or because he no longer had the strength to hold it.

Anakin slammed the whole of the weapon down. It crushed the scaffolding and the stone platforms that had supported it. It crashed in a great explosion as all of the mechanical parts and wires collided with stone. The weapon folded into the chasm and ignited in a brilliant plume of fire. Stone shattered around it, and lava tore paths through the fractured ground and poured into the chasm in great, flaming falls.

Anakin tossed the Jedi to the ground. Some rose again to fight but then stumbled. Others remained on the ground. Sidious might maintain some mind control over them, but they were strong. They would regain control as soon as their connection to the Force could be reestablished. Before long, Sidious would have an entire army against him, Jedi and troopers alike.

Sidious knew it, too. His face twisted in displeasure.

"You have doomed the galaxy, boy. You have done nothing but give the Jedi and the Republic grounds to stay the same. What exists does not work. Surely you know this."

"All it takes is one change," Anakin said, "for everything to be different." He marched towards Sidious. "I believe in people like Padmé and Bail Organa… and people like Obi-Wan. They will see that changes are made."

"They have tried and failed, you foolish child." Sidious retreated from Anakin but never took his eyes off him. "They existed even as the Republic and Order fell. You have seen a future that they allowed."

"The future is always in motion."

Anakin dove at Sidious and hit him hard. Sidious moved with the same speed and precision as before, but Anakin's strength waned. His muscles screamed, head throbbed, and vision blurred. He pushed anyway and landed blow after relentless blow against Sidious' blade. Sidious ripped the ground between them and tore the chunk of rock he stood on right off the shore of the lava river. Anakin jumped onto the flat rock as it bobbled and careened with the flow of lava.

He and Sidious met blades at the center of the platform, retreated to their separate corners to catch a breath, and struck again. They matched each other, blow for blow. Anakin knew Sidious well from the future, but Sidious knew him likewise. Sidious broke the platform in half, and Anakin jumped after Sidious. They locked blades on a small wedge of rock that tipped and turned, threatening to sink in the raging lava river.

Sidious snapped that one, too, and both jumped to the shore as the rock sank. Anakin followed him without relenting, pummeling him, searching for an opening, and finding nothing. His body dragged. They hammered at each other up a hill overlooking the river's shore.

High ground.

Anakin gave ground to Sidious and let the Sith Lord's lightsaber near. It seared through his shoulder, though Anakin deflected with his own blade enough that it only cut flesh and muscle. But it drew Sidious close. Anakin took the blow and dropped. He planted a solid kick into Sidious' stomach and sent him flying down the hill. Sidious flipped and landed on his feet at the river's shore.

Anakin stood over him at the crest of the hill.

"I invested so much into you," Sidious said with a growl rumbling from his throat. He waved a hand. Molten boulders rose out of the lava at his command, and lightning danced across his fingertips. "What a waste."

He launched boulders at Anakin, one after another, and fired Force lightning into their midst. Anakin twirled his lightsaber and caught the lightning, though the sheer strength of it sent pulses of pain through his head. He tossed away the boulders with mental nudges. They came so hard and fast that it took more concentration than he expected. One he had to slash with his lightsaber to sever it in two, and the pieces flew around him and shattered behind him.

Through it all, Sidious ran towards him. Expecting enough of a diversion. Expecting to be able to strike.

Arrogance and pride. The belief that one could not lose to someone they thought inferior. Anakin had once stood in Sidious' place.

Anakin deflected all of Sidious' projectile attacks with his lightsaber. He slipped Obi-Wan's lightsaber into his hand. Sidious moved out of sight, behind the barrage of molten rock and lightning, but Anakin could feel him through the Force. Could feel his darkness and his hatred. And for the strangest moment of Anakin's existence, he pitied him for all those things. Sidious jumped at Anakin from above, using a boulder to shield his approach.

Anakin ignited Obi-Wan's lightsaber to cut the boulder apart. Sidious landed on him expecting the boulder to occupy Anakin's lightsaber; his face fell at the sight of two blades. But he was already in motion, and so was Anakin. Anakin dove forward through the shattered stone and thrust with his own lightsaber. Nothing violent or flashy, just a solid, clean stab.

Straight through Sidious' chest.

Sidious froze, impaled on the blade. He looked at Obi-Wan's lightsaber and then Anakin's lightsaber. Lastly, his eyes met Anakin's eyes.

"Treachery," he said with a gasp.

"You ought to have expected it," Anakin said without malice or pleasure. "In this lifetime, I don't fight alone."

Anakin withdrew his blade in one swift motion. Sidious dropped and rolled down the hill to the river's edge. Lava splashed over him and caught his clothes. Flames devoured his cloak and ran over him.

"This is wrong!" Sidious screamed. "You belong to me! You have always belonged to me!"

Anakin shook his head. He felt nothing towards this man who had, in another life, helped to destroy him. A part of him wondered who had destroyed Sheev Palpatine.

Sidious screamed as the fire crawled over him. Screamed as Anakin had screamed. He had known this pain. He had relived it many times in his nightmares.

"Consider this a mercy," Anakin said.

He reached with the Force and broke the ground beneath Sidious. It gave with little effort. The rock and sand fell away into the lava. For a moment, Sidious drifted on a tiny island of rock, as though maybe the Force deemed fit to spare him as it had Anakin in another life. Then the rock cracked under the heat, and Sidious sank. Glowing yellow and red liquid swallowed him, and he screamed and reached out with a hand.

No one came to his aid.

Anakin stood by until even the puff of smoke that Sidious had emitted vanished into the hazy sky. The darkness that had suffocated Anakin for years, the darkness of Darth Sidious, snuffed out.

A flicker of pain ran through Anakin's head and chest, and all of his muscles burned. The pain was different, something connected to him but not quite a part of him. His face snapped towards the plains.

"Obi-Wan!"

He disengaged the lightsabers and fixed them to his belt as he broke into a Force sprint, jumping over lava and hills. He reached the plains that had been shattered by battle and all of its upturned stones and stray rivers of lava. Jedi and troopers covered the area. No one fought. Anakin's eyes scanned the far edge of the chasm where he'd left Obi-Wan. His shield had failed, but the gathering of Jedi in the area confirmed Obi-Wan's location.

Anakin ran. People shouted at him, but he didn't hear them. He halted at a slight distance from Obi-Wan, still on the ground, and found several Jedi healers at work on him. Medic troopers stood by.

The healers ceased their work and leaned back.

"Is he…" Anakin pushed past a few of the troopers into the inner circle.

One of the healers, Vokara Che, looked up at him. Sorrow washed over her face.

"I am sorry, Skywalker."

Anakin's heart fell into his stomach. Obi-Wan wasn't dead. He could feel his life. Weak, slipping away, but it remained.

"Move," he said, and he pushed everyone else away. He took Obi-Wan into his arms and placed a hand on the wound. "Help me heal him."

"It is too late, Skywalker," Master Che said, quite firmly. "It is the will of the Force. It is a wound that cannot be healed—"

"If it was the will of the Force, the Force wouldn't have put me here to try and save him. Now help me!"

Anakin closed his eyes and focused on healing. A skill not his own, but borrowed. He sank into the Force, into that loud and powerful place, and pulled at its power. It did not resist.

Several more sources of strength joined his own. The Jedi healers had decided to help him.

Strength gushed out of Anakin until he felt he had nothing left. When he opened his eyes, he saw the last traces of healing light evaporate from his hand and from around Obi-Wan. When Anakin removed his hand from the wound, he found a torn tunic but a healed belly. A medic checked Obi-Wan—and laughed.

"It worked!"

Several people let out shouts of exclamation, but their words muddled together in Anakin's ears. Dulled by the roar of blood and a throbbing pulse. Anakin's vision blurred, and his world went red. His chest hurt in a way it never had before.

He couldn't breathe. Couldn't even ask for help. He wavered, one arm still tight around Obi-Wan, and then he dropped.


	35. The Will of the Force

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading~! You guys are the absolute best!

Anakin opened his eyes to find a warm and familiar world of white. Beautiful and powerful, the Force.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan approached with a most perplexed look on his face. He searched the strange world and then Anakin.

"Master!" Anakin ran the short distance between them and grabbed Obi-Wan's arm. He blinked in surprise at his own hand. He wore the body of his adult self—his child self had passed.

Anakin was no longer a slave.

"Now I have to tolerate both of you at the same time?" said yet another voice, and both whirled towards the source. Qui-Gon stood with his hands folded in his enormous sleeves, a gentle smile on his face, a light in his eyes.

"Qui-Gon!" Anakin and Obi-Wan said in harmony. Together, they said, "Am I dead?"

Qui-Gon's smile fell, and he glared at them.

"Is a 'Hello, Qui-Gon, good to see you' too much to ask? Why must you always assume you are dead?"

"Because _you're_ dead," Anakin and Obi-Wan said.

Qui-Gon harrumphed at them and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, really," Anakin said as he looked all around. "Are we dead?"

This time, Qui-Gon's face did not shift in mock displeasure. Rather, his brow furrowed and his eyes darkened even in that bright and beautiful place.

"Obi-Wan will be well after some rest," he said, and then his voice dropped a significant note. "Your heart, on the other hand, has stopped. They are having difficulty restarting it."

Oh. Anakin blinked. He ran the words through his head again. He was dying. It didn't quite connect, not really. He was dead. Oh.

Obi-Wan glanced back and forth between Anakin and Qui-Gon, all lightheartedness and pleasure gone and replaced by stunned horror.

"That can't be right," he said, and he took hold of Anakin's arm. His eyes went to Qui-Gon with the nearest look to pleading Anakin had ever seen on his face. "There must be something we can do?"

Qui-Gon shook his head.

"It's all right, Master." Anakin managed a smile. It was easier than he expected. "I'm not afraid of dying."

As if to test his resolve, the light and airy world around them cracked. A spear of pain stabbed through Anakin's head and deep into the core of his being. Jolts of pain like Force lightning pulsed through him, and he gave up a great shudder. Obi-Wan's grip on his arm tightened. His Master glanced at Qui-Gon for confirmation—that this was it. That Anakin was dying.

Qui-Gon answered with a solemn look and silence.

"Oh, Anakin…" Obi-Wan barely made a sound.

"It's okay," Anakin insisted. "This is how it was meant to be, remember? I defeat Sidious, and then I die. I served my purpose."

"You are not something that serves its purpose and then gets discarded." Obi-Wan's tone went hard and sharp, but the grief in his eyes betrayed him.

"Apparently, I am." Anakin smiled despite the stinging realization that, to the Force, he was always just a tool. A means to an end. Nothing more, nothing less.

The light cracked further, and Anakin hunched forward as another wave of pain struck. He didn't recall death feeling quite like this. He'd abused the Force so much that perhaps it punished him.

"No." Obi-Wan shook his head, and Anakin wasn't sure what he was refuting. His former Master glanced at Qui-Gon again, as if expecting a different reaction this time, but Qui-Gon's expression didn't change. Obi-Wan took each of Anakin's arms, gripping him tightly. "Anakin, you remember what you must do? Do you remember how to…?"

How to preserve his consciousness within the Force after death. Anakin understood.

"Master, if he needs help, will you—" Obi-Wan maintained his grip on Anakin but looked to Qui-Gon.

"I will help him if he needs it." Qui-Gon offered a slight nod.

The world gave up a great shudder. Anakin shivered and stood only by Obi-Wan's support.

"Oh," Obi-Wan said, and he looked Anakin over. Even in that place, even in the safety and warmth of the Force, tears sprang to his eyes. He tried to speak several times, mouth moving, but nothing came out. At last, he produced another, "Oh, Anakin."

"It won't be too long before you join me, Master, don't worry," Anakin said with a smile that he had to force onto his lips. The pain made it hard to bear, but he did so anyway. "You're so old now, already one foot in the grave…"

Despite his tears, Obi-Wan smiled. Without another word, he wrapped Anakin in his arms and held him tight. Even as the world twisted and the lights crumbled, even as Anakin shook from pain that squeezed his muscles and bones, Obi-Wan did not let go.

"We won," Anakin muttered into Obi-Wan's shoulder. He couldn't lift his head. He didn't want to, anyway. "We defeated Sidious. The rest is up to you. You'll have to… I mean… will you try to help the Order and the Republic?"

Will you try to make sure this future is different, is what Anakin wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out right.

"I will," Obi-Wan said.

"And you won't forget the clone troopers, right? I promised, and I…"

"I'll do what I can."

"Padmé, Luke, and Leia… will you look after them? Padmé will need some help with them, and the twins… they need an eccentric Uncle Obi-Wan…" Anakin smiled at the thought.

"You know I will."

Darkness overwhelmed the light. Pain muddled Anakin's thoughts, and tears ran down his face. He didn’t mind dying. It was rightly deserved, and the galaxy was meant to go on without him. But even though he would be with Qui-Gon, an utter sense of loneliness gripped him. It was worse than the pain that seized him head to toe.

"I am proud of you, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, and he smoothed Anakin's hair at the back of his head. Chased some of the ache away. "I am proud of what you have accomplished and proud of the choices you have made. I am proud of the man you have become." He pushed Anakin back, barely, and met eyes with him. Obi-Wan managed a painful smile. "And I am proud to be your Master and your friend."

Anakin tried to smile, but it hurt. He grimaced instead and leaned forward. His forehead pressed against Obi-Wan's forehead. Obi-Wan clasped his head in both hands and held him there, and then he pulled Anakin's head down, placed a kiss upon his brow, and wrapped him tight again in his arms. Anakin held him and laid his head on Obi-Wan's shoulder. He couldn't lift it anymore.

Darkness claimed them besides the faintest flicker of light behind Qui-Gon. It seemed so far away. Anakin couldn't breathe.

"It hurts," he whispered, and Obi-Wan tightened his grip. Anakin managed to lift his head, and he found Qui-Gon quietly watching over them.

The corners of Qui-Gon's lips curled, noticeable even underneath his beard, and his eyes shone with a soft light.

Anakin frowned, and then Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan lurched away from him. Taken by darkness. His body jerked one way and then another. Briefly, he felt like he was falling, and then his back slammed hard against something smooth and deathly cold. Lights swam over him from a dozen different directions.

Shapes like humanoid bodies moved against the lights.

"We've got him!" someone said, distorted and muted. Far away. "He's back!"

"Anakin, can you hear me?" A familiar voice that warmed Anakin's heart. He fought towards it. Strained his ears and eyes, trying to make sense of the world around him. "Ani?"

The fuzzy world crystallized and took shape. Padmé loomed over Anakin along with Master Che and Coric. Several other medics, Jedi healers, and a medical droid lurked in the background. Bright lights glared down from the silver ceiling.

Definitely not dead.

 _See?_ Qui-Gon's voice echoed at the back of his mind, still and quiet, yet full of a twisted sort of cheeky pleasure. _This is what happens when you make assumptions. I didn't say anything, now did I?_

Oh. That wasn't very amusing at all.

A mask covered Anakin's mouth and nose, and several machines beeped near his head. He turned towards the sound, but movement across the room captured his attention.

"Please lie still! You are in no condition to move—"

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan swung his legs over an exam table and staggered across the room. He must have torn out an essential wire, because a machine beeped at him angrily. Obi-Wan slammed into Anakin's table in his haste. He stood at Padmé's side and leaned over Anakin. "Anakin, are you all right?"

As if Anakin had any idea. In his own state of bewildered confusion, Anakin blinked several times and tried to see Coric clearly.

"Coric," he said, and he tugged the mask away from his face so he could be heard. "Am I all right?"

Coric and Master Che had been discussing something nearby, and both turned to face him. Master Che regarded him with great displeasure, but Coric wore the most terrifying expression Anakin had ever seen on a clone trooper's face. Anakin's heart literally skipped a beat, and the machine near him made an unpleasant sound.

"I think I speak on behalf of everyone in the 501st, General," Coric said. "You are all right, but if you ever do that to us again, I will personally go to great lengths to resuscitate you and then kill you myself."

"Oh," Anakin said, and he pulled up what he could only imagine was a rather dopey smile. "Thanks, Coric."

Coric rolled his eyes and went back to his work.

Obi-Wan looked Anakin over and smiled, but his eyes shone with tears.

"You're a mess."

"His heart stopped," Padmé said. She wiped tears from her own eyes.

"I know," Obi-Wan said, and that earned him frowns from many people.

Anakin put the mask back on his nose and mouth because air escaped him otherwise. He caught a glimpse of red and raised his hand. Blood covered his arm and hand. He struggled to turn his head. Naked from the waist up, he had several patches stuck to his chest and attached to wires. They connected to a machine that sent jolts to restart a heart. For once, electricity had done Anakin good. Over the patches and over his skin, down his pants, even to his boots, blood covered him.

Despite the blood, Padmé took his flesh hand and brought it to her face. Tears continued to run down her cheeks.

"I thought I had lost you. I don't ever want to lose you again." She drew his hand to her lips and kissed his palm first and then the back of his hand. "I love you, Anakin."

Only warmth and love shone in her eyes. No blame or judgment. Nothing Anakin had expected or deserved. And now, he thought it was okay. Everything could be different this time, because one small choice, one divergence in the course of the future, could change everything. This time, he chose a different path. This time, he was different.

He squeezed her hand lightly and smiled.

"I love you, too," he said, but it sounded painfully awkward under the mask, even to his own ears.

She smiled in a terribly twisted, broken sort of way, something between laughing and weeping, and she kissed his hand again before leaning over him and embracing him as best she could with a mask, equipment, and wires all around him. He raised his arms to hold her and comfort her, and he pulled something. One of the machines screamed and, judging by how everyone jumped, declared him dead.

"Enough," Master Che said, and she waved her hands towards the door. "Everyone, leave."

Coric and the medical droid repeated her orders.

"I love you," Padmé said again, and she kissed Anakin's forehead. As she stepped back, prepared to leave, she asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Mostly everyone had left, and Master Che turned her attention on Padmé to shoo her out the door. Padmé held Anakin's hand as she rounded the table.

"When I get cleaned up… I'd like to hold our babies," Anakin said, and the thought of it warmed his heart and filled him with such happiness that it didn't feel right for him to experience it.

Their babies. Luke and Leia. Him and Padmé. A family.

Padmé laughed, but more tears fell as Master Che waved her out the door.

"I think that can be arranged." Padmé wiped her eyes as she went.

The door slid shut behind her. Master Che offered Anakin a stern glance before returning to other duties. Coric, on the other hand, shot Anakin the bone-chilling look again.

"Sleep. You are to be dead to the galaxy for a week—no, a month."

"Yes, sir," Anakin said. He gave a two-fingered salute from his forehead, but he must have pulled another cord. A machine beeped.

Coric grumbled, fixed everything, and went back to his business. A couple other Jedi healers remained, along with a med droid.

And Obi-Wan. He had returned to his table across the room and sat on the edge of it. He simply watched Anakin, his expression soft, his eyes full of warmth. When Anakin made eye contact, Obi-Wan smiled.

"Qui-Gon's not very funny," Anakin said, rather pathetically. His voice came out raspy and weak. Frail.

"No, he's not." Obi-Wan chuckled and shook his head.


	36. A Good Path

Anakin knocked before entering the High Council chamber and found all of the Council members present. The war had formally ended and many Jedi had been recalled—at least for now. Amazing how much could change in a few short weeks.

During their excursion on Mustafar, troopers and Jedi had discovered various Separatist leaders at the facility on the Gahenn Plains. Sidious had brought them for negotiations, but Anakin knew better; Sidious intended to kill them once he ensured he had the Jedi's power. Lingering leaders meant potential rebels, and Sidious would not allow that. The Separatist leaders were arrested, and that left a lot of unhappy Separatist planets. Peace would not necessarily come easily.

"Obi-Wan briefed us on everything," Master Windu said. He leaned back in his seat and held Anakin's gaze. "It seems we owe you our gratitude."

"You owe me nothing." Anakin shook his head. "I only did what was right."

"Filled you in on our proposition, has your Master Obi-Wan?" Master Yoda asked. He leaned forward off the edge of his seat onto his gimer stick, but he kept his head high. Something bright shone in his eyes that Anakin had never seen before in all his years at the Temple: peace without the shroud of the dark side to smother it.

"He has," Anakin said, and he glanced at Obi-Wan comfortably plopped in his seat, arms relaxed and one leg crossed. Obi-Wan smiled.

Obi-Wan had told him of the Council's decision to reinstate him. His marriage would be an exception.

"I thank you for the offer, Masters." Anakin bowed. "But I am afraid I must decline the honor." When he straightened, he intentionally made eye contact with each Master. "I respect the Order and the Jedi Code. I have great respect for your service to the Republic and the whole of the galaxy. But I cannot abide by the Code any longer. Not when I think it limits the potential for good I might accomplish elsewhere."

"Even if to make you a Master we decided, hmm?" Master Yoda leaned forward, and his ears rose and fell. A light twinkled in his eyes. He already knew the answer.

"Even if," Anakin said, and he smiled.

Certainly he had craved recognition before, when he had no sense of place. When he thought his worth depended on such things. That was no longer the case.

"Obi-Wan said you might say as much." Master Windu didn't look surprised. None of them did. "What will you do now?"

"I'm not sure. I will… see what course the Force lays before me. I will know when I know." Anakin's smile diminished as he recalled what he must give up. He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and approached Master Yoda to surrender it.

"Keep it," Master Yoda said without hesitation. "Created it, you did, and to you it belongs. Wield it well, young Skywalker."

Anakin's heart fluttered and he drew the weapon back to himself. Despite how often he had caused Obi-Wan grief over it, he truly felt this blade had become a part of him. Not his life, but a vast piece of it.

"You might need it, depending on whatever… _mischief_ you get into later on," Master Plo said, and this elicited a round of good-natured chuckles from the Council.

Anakin smiled and retreated to the center of the room, into a warm and radiant circle of light.

"Your service to the Order and to the Republic will not be forgotten," Master Windu said. Softness touched his tone. "Whether you think it necessary or not: thank you."

A chorus of thank you's followed, and Anakin's cheeks burned at the expressions. How long had he craved it? Now he didn't need it, but it filled him with a sense of pleasure just the same.

"I should go." Now that he had declined their offer, Anakin didn't want to waste any more of their time.

"May the Force be with you," Master Windu said, and several others echoed him.

Such a common phrase that Anakin had repeated for so long. He had questioned it. Questioned the will of the Force or the goodness of the Force. Now he didn't.

"It is," he said. He bowed again. "May the Force be with you, Masters."

After a few cordial goodbyes, Anakin dismissed himself to head to the Senate Building where he was to meet Padmé and the twins.

"I'll go with you," Obi-Wan said, lightly, and excused himself from the meeting.

No one argued or questioned, least of all Anakin. He and Obi-Wan descended the tower on the turbolift, sunlight flashing over them from outside.

"You're all ready for your holiday?" Obi-Wan folded his hands in front of him.

"Yes. We'll leave from the Senate Building and be straight away." Excitement bubbled up in Anakin. "We're going to leave the twins with Owen and Beru for a few days while Padmé and I spend some time alone. Then we'll take the twins to Naboo and visit her family."

"That sounds nice," Obi-Wan said, and his voice and expression softened.

"You should come." Anakin's excitement only increased at the thought of Obi-Wan playing babysitter on the trip and imagined how frazzled he'd get tending to the twins the whole time. And yet it wouldn't be the whole time, would it? The realization dawned on Anakin too late, as Obi-Wan raised one eyebrow at him. "I mean, after we pick up the twins and go to Naboo, not before. You know, because…"

Anakin's face burned. He huffed and looked down at his feet, but he caught the increasing grin on Obi-Wan's face.

"Thank you, but I think I'll pass," Obi-Wan said, as graciously as he could, with a laugh on his lips. "You deserve the time together as a family. It will be good for you. All of you."

Anakin nodded.

They took a speeder from the Temple to the Senate Building and headed inside. Anakin told Obi-Wan how Luke and Leia had started walking along couches or whatever they could get their hands on, and once he started gushing about them, he didn't stop until they reached Padmé's office. Obi-Wan patiently listened and nodded. After a while, Anakin wondered if he'd overstepped his boundaries. Just because he no longer served the Order did not exclude Obi-Wan from the Code. Attachments would always be a danger. Attachments to people like Anakin and his family.

This change might put distance between Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Anakin didn't particularly like the thought.

One of Padmé's assistants met them in the office.

"She's already left," said the young woman. "She requested you meet her in the lobby."

"My, she's eager." Obi-Wan smirked, but it dissolved into a warm smile. "I should be going. Anakin, have a safe journey, and enjoy your time." He placed his hands on Anakin's shoulders. "Use this time to rest and recover. You've been through a lot."

"Thank you, Obi-Wan." Anakin nodded.

Obi-Wan dipped his head and departed.

Anakin meandered down the hall and headed for the lifts to take him to the lower levels and the lobby. Padmé certainly was eager—they still had a little time before their flight. She'd been about as bad as him, though. She'd been exuding excitement all day and she could hardly stand to visit the office to tend to a few final details.

Down several corridors, Anakin saw Bail Organa exit an office with his usual retinue. He caught sight of Anakin and waved his team away.

"Skywalker! Might I have a moment of your time?"

"Of course, Chancellor," Anakin said with a slight bow.

Chancellor Bail Organa. The vote had been so heavily one-sided in his favor that no one in the opposition ever stood a chance. It had been a good choice. The right choice. With Palpatine, Anakin had only ever felt a sense of increasing dread at the state of the Republic. In part because of Palpatine's manipulations and because of the dark side, but also because Sidious never intended to bring peace.

Not so with Bail. With him, the Republic might stand a chance.

"Have you had some time to consider my offer?" Bail asked, approaching Anakin.

Anakin hadn't expected to answer so soon. His second offer upon his return: Bail and the Senate, with the support of many voices from the planet in question, had suggested Anakin's nomination to serve as senator of Tatooine. A planet now fully owned and operated not by Hutts or brigands but by former slaves, and they had motioned to formally join the Republic.

"I have. And I'm sorry, but I have to refuse." Anakin offered a faint smile. "I'm not much of a negotiator. I wouldn't do well as a senator."

"Hmm." Bail folded his hands behind his back and stood straight. His gaze never shifted from Anakin's, nor did his genuine smile falter. "That's too bad, but not surprising. You're a man of action, not words. The galaxy has need of men like you as much as it has need of men like me."

It would be okay. Tatooine would surely elect someone else to lead in due time. Hopefully they would find the right voice. Anakin's thoughts jumped to one man and one voice in particular.

"Actually, I do have a suggestion. A man by the name of Kitster. He led the people after I'd helped them escape. It seems he did well, and he might be just the man you're looking for."

"Kitster?" Bail frowned. He snapped his fingers. "Ah. The young man from the HoloNet!"

Anakin tipped his head.

"You weren't aware?" Bail asked, his eyebrows arching. "He spoke rather vehemently in your defense when the HoloNet insisted on painting you as a villain. His words alone swayed a lot of senators in your favor. Apparently, he was the one who led the former slaves to retake Tatooine."

Anakin couldn't help the foolish grin that lit his face.

"Chancellor, we have a few more documents for you," someone from his team called from down the hall.

"Yes, coming." Bail waved a polite hand at them. He returned his attention to Anakin. "I actually have one more matter to speak with you about. Another offer. I'll transfer the formal documents to Padmé once I have a moment. You can review them and give your decision once you return."

Anakin wasn't sure what else he could do for them but nodded anyway. Bail shook his hand and returned to his group, and they shuffled down the hall.

Anakin hurried to the lobby, having kept Padmé waiting long enough.

People bustled in and out of the Senate Building. It had a certain atmosphere of life to it that it never had before. Hope had an effect on people.

Anakin caught a glimpse of glossy silver and gold, finding R2 and 3PO at the end of the vast room near the main entrance. Baggage had been heaped around them. Most of the luggage was Padmé's, but she'd insisted on packing a bag for Anakin even though he was used to traveling light. As a senator's husband, he'd have to get accustomed to wearing impressive clothes. A few of Padmé's personal entourage stood behind the heap of luggage.

Then he found Padmé, and his breath caught in his throat. She paced in front of the doors with Leia in her arms. She wore a beautiful gown and had her curled hair twisted into some sort of silver headdress. Flawless as far as beauty was concerned. Yet the glow on her cheeks and the way she swayed and bounced Leia captivated him far more. The way she stopped when she noticed him and her face lit up. The way she looked at him with pure, unrestricted love. Enchanting.

"Anakin!" she called out.

Anakin met her halfway.

"Are you ready to go?" He kissed her cheek and then Leia's cheek.

Leia's face lit up when she saw him, and she smiled wide and showed off not one but two tiny teeth. Upon further inspection of those waiting near the baggage, Anakin realized they were shy a baby.

"Where's Luke?"

Padmé dipped her head behind Anakin, and he turned—and halted.

Obi-Wan paced from corner to corner of the lobby, perfectly minding his own business, with Luke in his arms. Obi-Wan chatted away, and Luke stared at him, completely enthralled by whatever Obi-Wan said. Probably something very Jedi-like. Luke shrieked with delight for no apparent reason, the sound echoing through the lobby, and he patted Obi-Wan's beard. Obi-Wan glanced back and found Anakin. He offered a quick smile before he continued with his leisure stroll.

When Obi-Wan passed by on his loop around the room, Anakin intercepted and held out his hands in expectation of Luke—and Luke reached for him in return. Obi-Wan turned a shoulder to Anakin's open hands and slipped past him. Luke blinked over Obi-Wan's shoulder and watched Anakin get left behind.

"I think not," Obi-Wan said with a frown. "This one is mine. Get your own baby." He continued on another loop around the room.

Anakin stared, hands still out.

"Skywalker!" Chancellor Organa rushed through the door, his heavy robe flaring behind him in his haste. Several members of his team flanked him. "Good, you haven't left yet."

Anakin glanced at Padmé, who handed Leia to one of her aides. She hurried to join them.

"Figured I may as well present the offer before you go. Better to hear it from my mouth than a datapad." Bail held up a datapad anyway and handed it to Anakin. "All the small details are here. Look it over when you have time." He folded his arms and took a deep breath. "Skywalker, I don't think you realize the effect your speech had on the senators at what most would consider their darkest moment. You inspired most into believing what you said was true, and the people on Tatooine only supported that claim. You hold a great deal more power now than I think you realize, and it would be a shame to waste it."

"I'm not looking for power," Anakin said, and a meek chuckle tumbled out of his mouth. In another life, he had. Not this one.

"I know, and that's why I can't help but think you're the right man for this job." Bail smiled. "The Senate and the Jedi Council have already come to an agreement on the matter. All we need is your acceptance of the position. We want you to fill a role as a sort of representative, an intermediary for planets that should be shielded by the Republic but, as of now, aren't. We want someone who can intercede for those people whose voices aren't yet heard. Someone who can go to them, listen, and act on behalf of them in whatever capacity they might need, barring a breach of Republic laws, of course."

"That sounds a lot like what a senator should do," Anakin said. He couldn't help but frown.

"Except this role will report directly to me, my immediate advisors, and the Jedi Council. Not only will this role serve as a liaison between the Senate and the people, it will serve as a liaison between the Senate and the Jedi Order," Bail said. "You are in a unique and ideal position for this role. You understand the Order, you understand to a significant degree the Senate, and you understand the people. You will go to these planets, learn of their needs, and report back. And I will do my utmost to speak on behalf of those people to the Senate."

"And what if the situation calls for immediate action?" Anakin recalled a time when the Senate had negotiated so long that Naboo nearly fell to ruin. "I'm sorry, but part of the reason I don't appreciate politics is because while the Senate negotiates, people suffer and die."

"This role will be provided with a personal taskforce. Negotiations are necessary. Talk is necessary. But if the situation demands and the law allows, this role can call in this unique taskforce to manage the situation accordingly. To protect people who can't protect themselves until a formal decision is made." Bail scratched his head. "Every member of this taskforce volunteered for their service with the one stipulation that they would only serve under you."

"Speaking of," Padmé said, and she turned to the lobby doors. "There's a handful of the taskforce right now."

Anakin followed her gaze. He stopped and stared.

Ahsoka met eyes with him first, and she grinned at him. Rex, Jesse, Coric, and several men from the 501st marched in with her. The men offered quick two-fingered salutes to Anakin, and Rex smiled and nodded at him. They headed into the lifts and vanished behind the sliding doors.

Anakin had wondered what became of them. He’d been shuffled around under medical care until only recently and hadn’t been able to keep track of anyone, not even the troopers.

Immediately following the cessation of the war, the Republic freed all clone troopers of their responsibility to the army and provided them with full citizenship. Kamino had been ordered to halt its production of clones and the DNA of Jango Fett seized. Most troopers chose to remain in the army, though now with pay and privileges.

Anakin had heard the 501st disbanded. It seemed they had other ideas for the future. Always the creative thinkers.

A smile crossed Bail's lips.

"To put it simply, Skywalker… If the Hutts insist on taking slaves within Republic territory, it is within the law to ensure those people are protected and freed. This role and its taskforce have full authority, within legal means, to enforce that law and free those people. And if the Senate dislikes the reprisals as a result of ensuring the law is followed, then the Senate must reconsider its current laws and tactics. Because the Senate must uphold the law _everywhere_."

"The Senate already approved this?" Anakin asked.

"Yes."

"And the Jedi Order, too?" Anakin shot a glance at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan paced with Luke, but he watched them. Watched Anakin. He smiled.

"In full agreement. The caveat with this is that the Senate will still insist on peacekeeping and negotiations. Usually, this role will be sent in with a Jedi. A team, if you will. Someone to manage the long-term peace and someone to manage the immediate needs of the people." Bail smiled and added with a hint of suggestion, "And I do know you and Obi-Wan have quite the reputation for handling situations in precisely the way we need."

He'd be teamed with Obi-Wan? Anakin's mouth turned in a smile, and then it faded. It was all too good to be true. All too unrealistic.

"What if a planet doesn't call for help?" he asked. "What if no one knows they're in need? The people out there don't think anyone is listening."

"Then find them." Bail gripped Anakin's flesh arm in both hands. "Find them and report to me. Because if it can be helped, no one should be forgotten."

Spoken with complete sincerity. Anakin felt nothing but honesty from Bail, honesty and a deep, resonating compassion through the Force.

"Please consider this over your trip," Bail said. "The stipulations are listed—"

"I'll do it," Anakin said. And it felt right. No doubt, no fear, and no sort of ill feelings through the Force. He spun towards Padmé. "Ah, I mean—"

"Anakin, I helped plan this. Of course I want you to do it!" She laughed and embraced him.

"It's settled, then. When you return from your trip, let's meet and get everything squared away," Bail said. He shook Anakin's hand and then Padmé's. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a taskforce to chat with." With a quick nod, he departed.

Anakin stood, frozen, and then he met eyes with Padmé. A grin spread on her lips, and one spread across his face, too. They laughed and embraced. A good path. This would be a good path for Anakin.

"We should hurry. Our flight will leave soon." Padmé checked the chrono and scanned the room. Her brow furrowed. "Oh dear, now he has both of them."

Anakin followed her gaze. Obi-Wan paced the room with both twins in his arms, both squeaking and cooing at him. He chatted away, but he kept shooting furtive glances at Anakin.

"I'll get them," Anakin said, and he kissed her cheek. He still couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

Padmé went after their baggage, and Anakin went after Obi-Wan.

"You had a hand in all of this?" Anakin asked as he approached his former Master. Obi-Wan stopped, and both babies turned in his arms to look at Anakin, bright smiles on their faces. Now they liked Obi-Wan, too. Leia was still picky with everyone else.

"I suppose I did." Obi-Wan handed the children over and crossed his arms into his large sleeves.

"We'll be spending a lot more time together."

"So it seems."

Obi-Wan smiled, and Anakin smiled, too. The Negotiator and the Hero With No Fear. A good team, they'd been told.

"I thought you were tired of all the trouble I cause you on missions."

"If you're going to be out there causing trouble anyway, I may as well be there to clean up after you." A teasing tone touched Obi-Wan's jab. No harm intended.

"Thank you, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan maintained his smile, and incredible warmth flooded his eyes. So familiar now, and so frequent. So open and honest.

"Go," Obi-Wan said. "Get some rest. It sounds as if you and I will have a mission when you get back."

Anakin's smile only grew.

"I'd have it no other way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the end, friends. Thank you SO MUCH for your precious time spent here, thank you for your beautiful words that I have cherished reading in the reviews/comments, and thank you for your support in every other way you've offered it, from bookmarking to sharing or whatever. Reading a story can be a huge commitment--and I appreciate that you were here for this.
> 
> Seriously, I feel honored to have had you along for this ride. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.


End file.
